We are currently discussing with the Indian railway consultancy RITES, how this can be done.â€
RITES is a government owned consultancy attached to Indian railways, which has been advising Sri Lanka’s transport ministry on restructuring the railways.
The firm has been advised the government with developing plans to upgrade the railway network damaged by the tsunami.
India has one of the largest railway systems of the world spanning 63,000 kilometres on which 11,000 trains are operated each day, carrying 15 million passengers and 1.6 million tonnes of freight.
Sri Lanka’s railways, on the other hand, suffer heavy losses, and have been systematically run down by successive populist governments which have set low fares.
Years of under-investment in the track has lowered the speed trains can be operated at, while an antiquated signaling system is also hampering opera