Railways' daily income plummets by Rs 12 million

The COVID-19 pandemic has resulted in the daily income of the Department of Railways plummeting by as much as Rs 12 million, General Manager of Railways (GMR) Dilantha Fernando stated. 

Before the country was hit by the pandemic, Sri Lanka Railways earned a daily income of about Rs 17 million, but this has shrunk to about Rs 5 million now, he said. 

While the number of commuters traveling in office trains has reached pre-COVID-19 levels, there is a huge reduction in the number of passengers traveling in long distance trains, he revealed. 

Long distance trains such as the Badulla Night Mail, the Kandy, Kankesanthurai, Polonnaruwa, Beliatta and Jaffna trains; all of which were high earners for the department, have been hit by a sharp drop in passenger numbers. "Only about 60-70 passengers travel in these trains on some weekdays," he added.

Despite these low numbers, Mr Fernando said they could not cancel these trains, but added that they were taking various efforts aimed at attracting the public back to using public transport. 

Prior to COVID-19, the Easter Sunday terror attacks and a strike launched by railway employees also contributed to a drop in revenue, the GMR observed. 

Nevertheless, Mr Fernando said he was hopeful that the situation will improve.

Text and Pix by Reka Tharangani Fonseka