railway Archives - Ceylon Independent

Finance Minister invites striking railway employees to end the strike and come for discussions

9Aug

By Faraz ShauketalyNo Comments

LOCAL

Finance Minister invites striking railway employees to end the strike and come for discussions

Strongly condemning the trade union action taken by the Sri Lanka Railways employees yesterday severely inconveniencing the evening commuters, Finance and Media Minister Mangala Samaraweera urged the striking employees to end the strike and come for discussions. "I strongly condemn the strike action taken by the railway employees. End the strike before we sit down for discussions," he said making a brief media statement. Minister of Finance says that the government strongly condemns the unannounced strike launched by the railway trade unions yesterday when the government has already appointed a special commission to revise the salaries of the state sector workers including the railway employees. The Minister said arrangements have been made to deploy additional Sri Lanka Transport...

Railway trade unions call off strike action

13Dec

By Faraz ShauketalyNo Comments

LOCAL

Railway trade unions call off strike action

Railway trade unions have decided to call off the strike action. The decision to call off the strike was made following a special discussion with the Cabinet sub-committee appointed to look into the matter. Commuters were highly inconvenienced, for the past seven days, due to the strike.

Train Strike: Is ‘risking the children’s future’ the right thing to do?

12Dec

By Faraz ShauketalyNo Comments

LOCAL

Train Strike: Is ‘risking the children’s future’ the right thing to do?

The Railways Trade Unions are carrying on with their strike defying all orders issued by authorities. So far among the demands made by the Trade Unions, the biggest is an increase in wages. Talks held between authorities and Trade Unions December 7: Talks with Secretary of the Ministry of Transport December 8: Talks with Secretary to the President December 10: Talks held once again with Secretary to the President However, the dispute remains unresolved despite discussions, and the strike goes on… As the strike action launched by railway unions continues unabated, the General Manager of Sri Lanka Railways has ordered all station masters, engineers and guards serving on a contract basis to report to work immediately. Sri Lanka Railways has also issued a statement, say...

11Dec

By Faraz ShauketalyNo Comments

LOCAL

Eight railway TUs to report to duty

Eight Trade Unions belong to the technical service of the government railway have decided to end the strike and report to the duty. These unions have informed their decision to President Maithripala Sirisena and Minister of Transport and Civil Aviation Nimal Siripala De Silva, Secretary to the ministry G.S. Vithanage told News.lk today (11th Dec.). Answering a question asked, Mr. Vithanage also said that considering the present strike situation, the decision to ask retired workers to report to work is a justifiable action. Meanwhile, the Sri Lanka Transport Board says that additional buses have been added to the service today due to the train strike. The Deputy General Manager R.R.T Chandrasiri said buses have been deployed to all the areas from Colombo.

Railways strike: Continued strike cause over 12 Million daily loss to the state

11Dec

By Faraz ShauketalyNo Comments

LOCAL, Main Story

Railways strike: Continued strike cause over 12 Million daily loss to the state

The Railways trade union is continuing their strike, despite a Gazette notification which declared railways as an essential service. According to an announcement made by the Railways Department – those who do not report to work within 24 hours of the official notice will be considered as employees who have vacated their posts. How much does a railways strike affect Sri Lanka? Daily train turns on a normal day: Over 350 Train turns during the strike: 09 Loss caused by the strike: Over Rs. 12 Million Sri Lankans across the island use the train services to travel long distances. The working class living far away from their work place, and those who make a living thanks to these train services. These are the people who are struck the hardest due to this strike. Why are t...

Japan Railway expresses their “deep apologies” after train leaves 20 seconds early

17Nov

By AdminNo Comments

World

Japan Railway expresses their “deep apologies” after train leaves 20 seconds early

A Japanese railway operator “deeply apologises” for the “tremendous nuisance”caused by a train departing 20 seconds early. The Tsukuba Express train, linking Tokyo and the capital’s nothern suburbs, pulled out of Minami Nagareyama Station at 09:44:20 instead of 09:44:40. The Tsukuba Express company expressed their feelings saying, “We deeply apologise for causing tremendous nuisance to customers.” Furthermore, the firm said that there was no complaint from customers over this incident, and added that no one missed the train due to the premature timing. Japenese railway services are known around the world for their punctuality. “What matters is not the 20 seconds… The point is that our formal procedure should be this: A sound rings 15 seconds before the departure, followed by...

Railway authorities battle to set Rajarata Rajina back on track

16Nov

By Faraz ShauketalyNo Comments

LOCAL

Railway authorities battle to set Rajarata Rajina back on track

Services of the Rajarata Rajina are yet to be restored after it derailed between Medawachchiya and Parasangaswewa. According to the Railway Control Room, train travel along the Northern Railway Line continues to be restricted to Anuradhapura. They further stated that a crane was sent from Colombo on Wednesday to repair the rail track. “The work was delayed, due to a certain fault,” said our correspondent. Meanwhile, the Railway Control Room said that several teams have been dispatched to place the train on track.They added that they expect to restore the train services by afternoon.

Trains on main railway line delayed due to incident in Gampaha

16Nov

By Faraz ShauketalyNo Comments

LOCAL

Trains on main railway line delayed due to incident in Gampaha

Delays in train services remain along the main railway line due to a train malfunction in Daraluwa, Gampaha. According to the Railway Control Room, a team of workers have been sent to carry out the repair work. A majority of trains that are travelling along the main line is therefore, reportedly, behind schedule.

Northern railway line under repairs after derailment

15Nov

By Faraz ShauketalyNo Comments

History, LOCAL

Northern railway line under repairs after derailment

Repairs commenced on the northern railway line after it was damaged due to a train derailment. A train which was traveling between Medawachchiya and Parasangaswewa, on the Northern Railway Line, was stalled since 8.03 p.m on Tuesday, November 14, owing to a derailment. According to the Railway Control Room, the ‘Rajarata Rajina’ which was travelling from Colombo – Fort to Vavuniya, derailed at around 9 p.m. on November 14. Three trains were delayed due to the derailment. One was to travel from Colombo Fort to Vauniya, and two other trains were to travel from Jaffna and Vauniya to Colombo Fort. The 5:10 a.m. train which was to commence its journey from Mount Lavinia to Kankesanthurai was cancelled. However, the ‘Yaal Devi’ train, set off at 5:45 a.m from Mount Lavinia to arri...

Railway trade unions to strike at midnight

8Nov

By Faraz ShauketalyNo Comments

Top Story

Railway trade unions to strike at midnight

Railway trade unions have decided to launch a 48 hour strike from midnight, tonight. The strike will be held demanding that a proper solution be meted out for salary anomalies in the railways industry. Train drivers, guards, controllers and station masters are set to take part in this strike.