78 railway engines in need of repairs idling in running sheds

By Chandana Samarawickrama- Lankadeepa

The Auditor General’s Department has reported that 78 railway engines that needs repairs are idling in the running sheds and the Ratmalana Main Railway Workshop without attention for seven years since 2017.

The Audit Report indicated that 47 out of the 103 M-Class engines in the rolling block have been under repairs and that an M-Class Engine was valued at between Rs.150 million and Rs.785 million each.

Meanwhile, 21 out of 133 S-Class engines valued between Rs. 8 million and Rs. 216 million each have been left in the running sheds for more than seven years.

Another ten railway engines of the M-2 class purchased for Rs.7,650 million have been withdrawn from the rolling block for repairs due to their poor engine performance and other technical defects.