The Transport Ministry said that special transport arrangements have been made to facilitate the commuters  who will be travelling during the New Year season conveniently from Colombo and suburbs to their distant home towns, the Transport Ministry said.

They said the transport services are scheduled with the support of the Sri Lanka Transport Board (SLTB), the National Transport Commission (NTC) and the Railway Department.

As such, trains will run until April 14 from Colombo to other provinces, and then it will resume on April 17 to facilitate the holiday makers to return to Colombo, the Ministry said.

Meanwhile, some 172 SLTB buses have been assigned for people to travel from Colombo to other provinces. From April 12, and the number of SLTB buses to be increased to 296.

In addition, 578 private buses have been assigned to take commuters from Colombo to other provinces until April 15, even on the expressways, the Ministry added. (Chaturanga Samarawickrama)