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7 Injured as train derails near Bambalapitiya station
View(s):Three compartments, including one carrying a group of tourists, of the Matara-Maradana train, yesterday derailed near Bambalapitiya railway station at 6.20 p.m, leaving seven commuters injured and extensive damages to the carriages, Railway officials said.
One of the derailed compartments was operated by a private company which undertakes bookings from tourists. At the time of the incident seven of the 17 foreigners who had booked into the compartment, were on the train as 10 of them had got off earlier.
Pic by M.D. Nissanka
Hemantha Fernando, Manager of Blue Line Express Company which operated the compartment, said that none of the foreigners was injured.
Mr. Fernando said, “Our company spent a fortune on the compartment and its restoration would cost about Rs 6.5 million.’’
He said all four air conditioners, along with the generators were damaged by the impact.
He claimed that the damaged compartment, one of five bought by the company for Rs 8.5 million, on a five-year agreement with Sri Lanka Railways (SLR), was two-years-old.
He explained it was modified to facilitate Wi-Fi, TV, music, air conditioning, toilets and tempered glass for safety, and most of it was now destroyed because of SLR’s negligence.
Train services between Bambalapitiya and Wellawatte were operating on a single line, as track repairs were ongoing, and scheduled to be completed by today.