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Audit report unearths multiple issues that ail the rails
View(s):Busting Rs 200m on a vegetable transport experiment that never took off track among other instances
By Sandun Jayawardana
Despite a proud history of more than 160 years, Sri Lanka Railways (SLR) has been plagued by multiple issues resulting in its inability to deliver a satisfactory service to thousands of daily passengers. The National Audit Office’s report of the Railway Department’s annual performance, recently tabled in Parliament, highlights some of these issues.
The NAO’s findings into the 2023 annual performance report (the 2024 report is yet to be tabled), reveal that 70 percent of train journeys in 2023 were either delayed or cancelled. “Though trains first started running according to a timetable in 1865; all these years later, passengers still complain that trains are not running according to a timetable,” notes the NAO.
Though 122,426 train journeys were scheduled in 2023, only 36,771 journeys took place on time. The number of train journeys that were cancelled was 10,531. Accordingly, 70 percent of train journeys had either been delayed or cancelled in 2023. The NAO has further observed that frequent railway strikes throughout the year, often on “insufficient grounds” also severely inconvenienced the public.
Though the Railways Department has been ferrying 6 percent of overall passenger traffic and 6.5 percent of goods, it has been unable to increase that share. The Auditor General has further pointed out that while the railway network spanned 1,521 kilometres in 1934, it had reduced to 1,465 kilometres by 2023. This is a reduction of 56 kilometres. This reduction was even after 32 kilometres of rail track was added when the track was extended up to Beliatta.
SLR carried 109.15 million passengers and covered 7,043 million passenger kilometres in 2023. It also transported 1.99 million tonnes of goods. The department’s revenue increased to Rs 16,079 million in 2023 from Rs. 11, 076 million earned in 2022. “All income categories included in total income showed a considerable growth in 2023,” SLR stresses, adding that the passenger revenue in 2023 was 13,239.17 million; an increase of 4,064.26 million compared to 2022. The department’s total income had increased by 45 percent in 2023 compared to the previous year. The increase was attributed to a higher number of passengers opting to travel by train owing to higher bus fares.
Nevertheless, total expenditure in 2023 was Rs. 38,983 million and it includes recurrent expenditure of Rs. 27,840 million and capital expenditure of Rs. 11,143 million.
The audit reveals a large number of problematic incidents that have negatively affected SLR. This includes unapproved bonuses to employees from December 2004 to December 2023 based on the 2004 November salary. Moreover, though the proposed bonus scheme has to be reviewed every six months as per regulations, it has not been reviewed since November 2002. The NAO has recommended that the bonus scheme be reviewed and subjected to relevant approval.
Meanwhile, Rs. 200 million had been allocated to SLR through the 2022 interim budget to “transport vegetables,” and more than Rs. 198 million had been spent to repair five railway compartments for this purpose. The project was never implemented. Four sub-departments were given allocations for this but three had spent nearly Rs. 97 million, or 49 percent for other purposes. SLR, however, in a response to this query has said those funds were spent for activities that have a long-term impact on the Railways Department and as such, none has been wasted.
The audit also highlighted difficulties with booking tickets online.
For example, it has pointed out that only those with rail ‘warrants’ can change the date of travel for tickets booked online, but not others. If bookings are cancelled, other passengers are unable to book those same seats as the system shows they are already booked. As a result there have been many instances where trains had operated with empty seats.
Instances of valuable SLR property not being utilised and falling into a state of disrepair have also been highlighted. Thirteen railway carriages manufactured in Romania had sat idle for two years and two months at the Jaffna railway station. Sixty-nine railway wagons and carriages that had been parked for many years at four railway stations had fallen into disrepair.
The report says that 10, M11-Class engines were bought at Rs. 765m each under an Indian line of credit in 2019 and 2020. By November 1, 2023, five were inoperable. Half the engines became inoperable within four years from the date of purchase and none had been repaired at the time of audit.
Also, 132 government quarters affiliated with five railway stations were unoccupied. Many did not haves basic amenities such as electricity and water.
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