1,500 Extra Buses And Special Trains In Operation For New Year Travel

COLOMBO (News 1st): The Ministry of Transport, Highways, and Urban Development has announced that special transport services remain in operation today to facilitate the movement of people traveling to their hometowns for the New Year. 

Under the supervision of the National Transport Commission, buses from the Sri Lanka Transport Board and the Road Passenger Transport Authority are providing 24-hour service to meet this demand. 

The SLTB has taken steps to deploy an additional 1,500 buses as part of this integrated transport program. These services are operating based on passenger requirements from the Makumbura Multimodal Transport Center and the Central Bus Stand in Pettah, Colombo.

Furthermore, the Ministry noted that under the post-New Year transport plan, these special bus services will continue from April 16th to the 21st to assist people returning to Colombo from their villages. 

Steps have also been taken across all other provinces to streamline transport facilities in coordination with the SLTB and provincial authorities. The Director General of the National Transport Commission, Nilan Miranda, stated that a special program is in place to monitor any inconveniences faced by passengers, who are encouraged to report issues via the 1955 hotline.

Meanwhile, a special train service for those traveling for the New Year will remain active until April 19th. According to the Railway Department, special trains are running between Colombo Fort and Anuradhapura, Anuradhapura and Kankesanthurai, Maradana and Matara, and Maradana and Beliatta. Additionally, the Rajarata Rejini train, which usually runs from Beliatta to Maho, has been extended to Anuradhapura during the festive season. 

These special train services are scheduled to accommodate passengers traveling both away from and back to Colombo.