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Railway toilets for locals to be on par with those for expats: GMR
Only for foreigners: A toilet at Mount Lavinia railway station. Pic by Amila Gamage
“Foreigners Only” toilets will remain at railway stations in the country, while toilets for locals will be upgraded to the same standard, said General Manager of Railways (GMR), B.A.P. Ariyaratna.
The move to upgrade toilet facilities comes following the exposure in the Sunday Times of January 31 that highlighted how locals were being discriminated with “Foreigners Only” toilets being well maintained, while toilets for locals were appalling with no maintenance at all.
Measures will also be taken to remove ‘Tourists only’ signboards and replaced with suitable wording.
Transport Minister Nimal Siripla de Silva had called for the review of toilet facilities at railway stations after the Sunday Times article.
He said that the article had highlighted an important issue, and had instructed officials to take remedial action on the shortcomings, so as to ensure local passengers get the same facilities as foreigners.
GMR Ariyaratna said moves were under way to hand over themaintenance of facilities to a private company, and tenders would be called for this purpose shortly.
He said plans were also under way to renovate railway stations along the Kelani Valley Railway line.
“The platforms from Colombo to Homagama are to be raised and extended, while a pilot programme to install solar panel electricity as well as digital railway maps is also under way,” he said.