Train Trouble: COPA Wants to Know Delay Costs

COLOMBO (News 1st); The Committee on Public Accounts (COPA), chaired by MP Aravinda Senarath, recommended that an audit be conducted on the daily financial loss incurred due to train cancellations.

This recommendation was made during the Committee’s meeting at Parliament to discuss the Auditor General’s Report for the year 2023 and the current performance of the Sri Lanka Railways Department.

The Committee’s attention was drawn to the insufficient number of audit and management committee meetings held, and inquiries were made from the former Secretaries to the Ministry and former General Managers of Railways regarding the lack of adequate meetings from 2021 to 2024.

In response, the former officials pointed out that the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic during this period hindered the ability to hold such meetings. Although arrangements had been made to regularize these meetings in 2024, the officials stated that the final scheduled meeting could not be held due to staff transfers. The Committee noted that as a result, the institution’s efficiency had declined and that delays in train operations had increased in 64 train delays in 2022, 61 in 2023, and 46 in 2024.

A lengthy discussion was held on this matter, and the Committee recommended that a report be submitted to the Ministry regarding daily train delays and the measures taken to prevent them. Additionally, the Committee recommended that an audit be carried out on the daily losses incurred due to train cancellations.