More than 100 trains cancelled due to absence of railway employees: Railways Dept.

• The delay occurred due to the letter issued by the President’s Secretary informing the Railway General Manager about their retirement upon reaching the age of 60 on December 31

By Chaturanga Pradeep Samarawickrama   

More than 100 train services, including passenger and goods trains, were cancelled until yesterday due to the absence of railway workers, the Railways Department said.  

Eighteen train services were cancelled last morning, they said.   Accordingly, more than 100 train services were cancelled as of December 31, 2022.   However, as many as 96 trains were off the tracks last Saturday (December 31) and January 1 due to the absence of railway employees, they said.    

48 passenger trains and 11 goods trains were cancelled yesterday (December 31) as railway staff failed to show up.    Meanwhile, 36 trains, including 24 passenger trains and 12 goods trains, were cancelled by 6 pm on Sunday (1), also for similar reasons.    The delay occurred due to the letter issued by the President’s Secretary informing the Railway General Manager about their retirement upon reaching the age of 60 on December 31.    The agency stated in a notice that the Public Service Commission approved their service on a contract basis for essential staff.    The notice was released as per the recommendations of the committee.