REMAKING THE RAILWAY

Railways Department and private firm restore old compartment beyond recognition

The Railways Department jointly with Tantri Trailers Pvt Ltd had successfully restored two railway compartments from scrap, under the project of reconstruction and revamping of two hundred railway compartments, the General Manager of Railways Dilantha Fernando said.

Speaking to the media he said, that compartments, which were damaged in an accident occurred in Veyangoda had been refurbished in this manner.

“With the aim of assisting the local industrialists to develop this project

Importing one compartment would generally cost around Rs. 75 million, whereas turning out locally using scrap and refurbishing only cost Rs 18 million per compartment

had been launched and its dividends are now paying off,” he said.

“Also we expect to increase the number of train journeys in the near future,” he noted.

Importing one compartment would generally cost around Rs. 75 million, whereas turning out locally using scrap and refurbishing only cost Rs 18 million per compartment.

“Compartments which are about twenty-five years old and in a very dilapidated condition are refurbished by the Railways Department and Tantri with a finish that makes them appear new. “This project has created an awakening among the local industrialists and there is much competition among the workers to complete this task maintaining high standards,” he said.

Athula Haputhanthri, the Director of Tantri Trailers Company said that most of the compartments used by them for restoration were those that had been condemned by authorities.

The set of wheels or the bogey and the brakes are attended to by the employees of the Railways Department, while their company attends to the construction of the compartments.

He said that they hoped to extend this reconstruction work to next year as well and hoped to save valuable foreign exchange by building railway compartments locally which also provided employment to the locals.