On a Swiss ride
View(s):A Lankan train driver’s once-in-a lifetime experience
How many Sri Lankans would get a chance to be at the controls of a Swiss train? Engine driver G.P.S.M Nimal Perera enjoyed this once-in-a lifetime experience thanks to the Swiss couple he had met back home.
 Train driver Nimal Perera from Sri Lanka looks forward to the cab ride with Roland Feer, locomotive crew manager from Olten. Photo: Annette Fuhrer |
 Nimal Perera at the controls of the Swiss Railways locomotive.Photo: Brigitta Franchetti |
On a visit to Sri Lanka in November 2011, Hansjuerg Moser and his wife Brigitta Franchetti took a train ride from Badulla to Colombo on the new ExpoRail carriage and were delighted with the facilities.
When they met manager Priyankara Dharmasena he invited them to continue the ride in the old diesel locomotive. It was then they encountered driver, G.P.S.M. Nimal Perera who gave them an insight into the technical details of the engine and his work in the Railways. This was a unique, unforgettable experience for them, Mr. Moser said.
“After our return to Switzerland we kept in touch with Mr. Perera and while on a visit to Switzerland, my wife Brigitta arranged for him to drive in a locomotive of Swiss Federal Railways (SBB) with two representatives on the Olten-Solothurn-Olten route.
They introduced him to the driver‘s job here and also interviewed him on the difference of being a locomotive driver in Sri Lanka and Switzerland,” Mr. Moser told the Sunday Times in an email.
Mr. Perera was excited and enjoyed the new feeling on the control wheel of such a different locomotive, he added. His story was subsequently published in the September issue of the magazine of Swiss Railways, Operating Info.
Extracts of the interview ( translated from German) :
Nimal Perera has been a train driver for Sri Lanka Railways for 28 years. This year, he is on holiday in Switzerland. During a cab ride, Operating Info’s editor asked him a few questions.
What made you want to be a train driver?
Becoming a train driver was my childhood dream.
How many train drivers does your company employ and how many of them are female?
Sri Lanka Railways employs around 300 train drivers. We don’t have any women drivers (laughs). I can’t imagine it.
How long do you have to train to become a driver and what are the requirements?
You have to have graduated from high school and be in good health. The training takes five years. In the first year I studied all of the systems in the diesel-hydraulic and diesel-electric locomotives. In the second year I worked as a signal operator, in the third as a maintenance worker, and in the fourth as a shunting locomotive driver. In the fifth year I was allowed to drive the trains along the routes in the lowlands.
Can you travel on all of the network’s routes now?
I can drive on all of the routes. Because I’m among the most experienced train drivers, I am even allowed to drive the tricky mountain route from Colombo to Badulla which has gradients of up to 1 in 44.
How long is a train driver allowed to drive without a break?
There aren’t any rules. The longest service I operate is from Colombo to Badulla. I start work at 7.00, depart at 9.45, and arrive at 19.25. I take my own food with me. Three attendants from the railway company will be waiting for me at the end station. One takes my bag, one cooks, and one looks after the train drivers’ bungalow.
What has been the highlight of your train driving career to date?
I was the best in my training class, and I’m still proud of that.
How good is the job’s image in Sri Lanka?
The image is very good. Train drivers are highly respected people.
What is the biggest difference between SBB and Sri Lanka Railways?
There’s lots of differences. The tracks, tunnels, bridges, technology, signals and information systems are in good condition here. The locomotive crews drive safely and carefully. This is how SBB travels so punctually, without any accidents.
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