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Challenges hold up restoration of damaged upcountry rail track
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Polonnaruwa
Text and pix by Rekha Tharangani Fonseka
Four months after the Ditwah cyclone triggered landslides and floods, the Sri Lanka railway, which suffered considerable damage, is still struggling to restore services.
Railway General Manager Ravindra Panmapriya,
As a result, tens of thousands of commuters are facing severe inconveniences, the Railway Department is losing millions in daily revenue and most workers are idling.
Many places of historical value along the upcountry railway have suffered from landslides and collapses, dealing a severe blow to the tourism industry as well as the economy.
Although the northern railway route up to Mahawa, the Trincomalee Railway, Batticaloa, and Polonnaruwa railway have been affected, the situation is not as bad as the upcountry track.
Railway engineers are predicting that it will take more than a year for the upcountry railway to resume operations.
According to Railway General Manager Ravindra Panmapriya, the damage caused to the upcountry railway line is still incalculable. The Railway Media Spokesperson, Railway Superintendent (Traffic), Asanka Samarasinghe, said that out of the 300 daily train trips only 60 have resumed.
Danushka Dissanayake
The destruction of the upcountry track is also preventing the department from putting into use some 39 wagons struck midway.
The General Manager of Railways says that security forces have taken steps to enhance security on trains that have stopped en route and that it is the duty of the public to protect public property.
It has not yet been decided whether assistance will be sought from abroad to repair the damage to the railway line, according to engineer in charge of the upcountry railway, Danushka Dissanayake. A water leak has been seen in tunnel number 43 on the mountain railway, and half of the entrance is covered by a landslide. There are 15 locations on the up country railway line which have been washed away and includes a location in Radella where there is a 200 foot deep depression spread for 60 metres due to a landslide.
The Kotagala, Hanegama, Radella, Matale and Ambewela areas have similar issues, while the Black Bridge in Peradeniya is also severely damaged.
Overall, 101 locations on the upcountry railway, including Radella, Uduwara, and Kotagala, have been identified as disaster-hit areas, and over 20 tree falls have been reported.
The cost of attempting to establish a railway line in the same location is enormous. According to engineer Danushka Dissanayake, the knowledge of our country’s engineers can be used more effectively for that task. The Railway Department also has engineers who are capable, but the knowledge of foreign engineers and overseas funds may be useful to speed up reconstruction. Superintendents, Station Masters of the Railway Traffic Office, Nalin Abeysinghe, said there have been numerous incidents of landslides and tree falls on the upcountry railway line, but there has never been a time in history when such great damage has occurred.
Nalin Abeysinghe,
The Sri Lanka Railway Station Master’s Association states that office train operations have been affected due to the inability to bring 39 wagon sets to Colombo.
The General Secretary of the Association, Kasun Chamara Jayasekara, in a press release said it is regrettable that due to this, it has become very difficult to operate trains to meet passenger demand.
It was observed that there were no workers to repair the culvert near Bujjomuwa area.
He said if voluntary and military help is sought, there is a possibility of bringing back to Colombo 12 power sets located in Polgahawela, Rambukkana, Ganewatta and Kurunegala.
Chief Engineer (routes), Priyantha Deegala said that initial steps have been taken to do renovations at Bujjomuwa.
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