Railway Compartments Refurbished locally

• Mr. Fernando said it takes an exorbitant amount of money to import compartments and that it took only one fourth of that amount to refurbish the compartments locally.
• The compartments are being refurbished as a part of the programme of refurbishing 200 compartments which are over 25 years old

By Rekha Tharangani Fonseka   

A total of 129 railway compartments had been refurbished in a joint effort by the Railways Department and the railroad company Tantri Trailers (Pvt) Ltd, Railways General Manager Dilantha Fernando said.   

The compartments are being refurbished as a part of the programme of refurbishing 200 compartments which are over 25 years old. The compartments are being refurbished at the Ratmalana Railway Maintenance Yard and the railway maintenance yard of Tantri Trailers (Pvt) Ltd at Dematagoda.   
Mr. Fernando said all the 129 compartments had been added to the train fleet. 

 
“This programme was launched as per a proposal in the 2015 Budget to empower local industrialists and to improve railway facilities. The target is to refurbish 500 compartments and 200 will be refurbished under the first phase,” he said.

Accordingly, the engineering team of the Railways Department assembles the brake system of the compartments and other safety apparatus while the railroad company fixes seating and other accommodation facilities on them.   

Mr. Fernando said it takes an exorbitant amount of money to import compartments and that it took only one fourth of that amount to refurbish the compartments locally. “We have obtained the service of about 200 employees for this task,” he said.   

All refurbishments of compartments are being done under the supervision of the Railways Department in line with railways standards. The sanitary and lavatory facilities are also up to very high standards.   

Meanwhile, a compartment imported from Romania and abandoned has been refurbished as a observation compartment. Accordingly, refurbished Romanian and S8 compartments have been added to the fleet.   

The refurbished compartments have been added to the office trains along the Kelani Valley and Coastal railway line.     

• The refurbished compartments have been added to the office trains along the Kelani Valley and Coastal railway line.