Northern line train delays due to split construction, signal projects: Cabinet spokesman

Colombo, October 22 (Daily Mirror) - Train services on the Northern railway line from Maho to Omanthai have been delayed due to projects not being completed properly and a request for another year to complete the signals system, Cabinet Spokesman and Minister Vijitha Herath said.

Addressing the weekly media meeting to announce Cabinet decisions, he explained that the tender procedures for the construction of the Northern railway line and the completion of the signals system were granted as two separate tenders to the same company. While the renovation of the railway line has been completed, the company is requesting an additional year to complete the signals system.

"The previous government issued these tenders improperly. If we wait another year for the signal systems to be restored, train services cannot be operated until it is completed," he said.

As a result, the Railways Department accepted the partially completed railway line, and after certain repairs, the train services were resumed. However, the construction of railway stations is still going on, although with slight delays.

The issues with the non-operation of trains on the Northern railway line arose because the project was not completed properly. If the railway line construction and the installation of the signals system had been handled as a single project by the same company, the delays would have been minimized, Minister Herath added.