SL train fare hike to pacify Railway workers   

Amidst the threat of another lightning strike following the appointment of a special public salary revision committee, the government is to increase train fares, the Transport Ministry announced on Sunday.
This announcement was made after a lengthy discussion between President Maithripala Sirisena and representatives of railway workers in Colombo on Saturday.  
The President decided to call for a special meeting with all responsible sectors to solve the railway workers issues on Thursday (August 23), President of the Railway Guards Union, Aloka Jayasinghe said.
He noted that they have decided to suspend the railway trade union action which was scheduled for Monday August 20 as the President has given an assurance that he will definitely settle their salary anomalies. 
A special gazette notification will be issued soon by the Transport Ministry notifying a 15 per cent train fare hike with effect from October 1, a senior official of the Ministry said.
According to Finance Ministry sources there were provisions in the 2018 budget to increase train fares as there were no revision of minimum train fare since 2008.
The proposal to revise train fares has been made by a 5-member committee.
The Department of Railways incurred a loss of Rs. 6.7 billion due to the delay in increasing train fares in 2017, sources said.
The implementation of the train fare hike had been delayed as the Railway Department has failed to ensure that commuters receive the necessary facilities inside the trains before the fare hike is enforced, the senior Ministry official said. (Bandula)