General Discussion

Matara Beliatta Railway Extension Project

The Matara – katharagama railway line, which is currently under construction, is the first rail track to be constructed since the end of British colonial rule. This newly constructed railway line does not only upgrade Sri Lanka’s railway network, but will also improve the economic development of the region.

Under the project, the southern region's largest railway station will be built at Beliatta while the Tunnel at Nakuttiya will be the longest tunnel in the country with an extent of 606 metres. Railway stations will be set up at Kekanadura, Babarenda and Wewrukannala while sub-stations will be set up at Piladuwa and Weherahena

A total of 229 acres belonging to 1,225 families were acquired for the project. Compensation up to Rs. 978 million was paid to them to launch the construction work.

3000 HP gives an indication that it could be a big locomotive, possibly C0-C0 axle arrangements ; hope it is not. Sri lanka railways badly needs locomotives that could haul trains in the hills as I've said before only a few existing locomotives could haul trains in the hills and even in out of those some locomotives are in very bad condition. I feel like even certain M6 locomotives have called it time in the hill terrain. It could barely pull 7 carriages on the kadugannawa incline ; locomotives like the M6 783 starts to struggle to gain traction from ihala kotte onwards and then on the journey is snail paced with the morning Kandy intercity with 7carriages (train no:1009/10).
Anyone travelling in either the senkadagala menike or the evening(3:30pm) Kandy ICE could you share your experience. These are 9 to 10 carriage consists usually hauled by M9 872 which is the only reliable M9 engine currently in service or a M5c with a helper engine. How do they perform on the incline?

But in this instance SLR had made a wise call by importing one locomotive first and testing it rather than bringing alot without testing which would then turn into blunders.

"General Electric (GE) Transportation has been selected to provide 12 diesel locomotives valued at US$ 48 million to the Sri Lanka Railways"

- "The 3000 horsepower engines would serve both passenger and cargo trains"

- "Initially one engine would be brought down and after a three month trial period, the other engines would be purchased"

http://www.sundaytimes.lk/180520/new...ys-294744.html

Well as far as they subject of quality goes there are two sides. We all know the finishing the S11 had when it first arrived in sri lanka, it was quite simply shabby. The paint work was not neat and the metal sheets where no where near straight. Now itself most of the S11 have started to rust pretty badly and the fibre glass front faces have some cracks(may be from accidents). But above all is the appalling state of the brakes which failed miserably as S11s were involved in two large scale accidents ( alawwa and pothuhera) due to the imminent problems in brakes. So will safety of the passengers be compromised for others gain, we never know. All though this is a bit off topic the traction motors of the S11 has problems too it seems when asked from a reliable resource as it has been the reason why so many s11's have been sidelined at dematagoda( place where the Expo coaches are parked).
But on the other hand one aspect to be appreciated of the S11 is that it is equipped with air balloon suspension which is quite comfortable, and I could remember traveling back in 2011 that the compartment cabin was well furnished with fans although most were later vandalized and some stopped working.
But summing up we should agree that the S11 is the worst powerset (DMU) that was imported to sri lanka, so the authority should be careful and take a smarter choice given the past experiences but we all know anything can happen.
And how about the braking system will it have vacuum or air?

Even they explain that the quality is not as good as their own other carriages.

"However, officials emphasised that the coaches being made for Sri Lanka will not be as good as the revolutionary T18 coaches, which are likely to be rolled out in late June or early July."

Class S11 has ICF made coaches and they are craps like no other. I don't think the incoming stock will be better than that. Their second class seats were good though. Except that everything else was just rubbish.

From what i know the quality of these are quite good. But i could be wrong.

Does anyone know what's happening with that apparent electrification of the railway lines in colombo? Or is that just big talk?

Also why are most of the stations in the country apart from the rebuilt ones in the north in such disrepair? It's disgraceful. Can't they raise the platforms and fix the buildings instead of pocketing everything. I was at Mount Lavinia station and i realised that apart from the first platform you literally have to climb into a train.

What do you think of the quality of ICF Coaches?

New coaches for SLR from ICF in India.

Firstly i think it is talk only as the current GoSL is struggling to purchase locomotives and rolling stocks even from countries like india and china which offer a attractive bargain price compared to the US.

If they go ahead and the purchase takes place then it would be a much needed acquisition and replacement as the current locomotive fleet specially M6 (39 years old), M2c (57 years old)has rendered a yeoman service to the treacherous upcountry railway line. Also need to mention other locos like the W3 which started life as W1 is i think more than 50 years old, Then again the M5b, M5c(39 years old) which were re engined and extensively used on the upcountry track.

Provided that the upcountry line of sri lanka presents unique conditions for any broad gauge line in the world. The order and locomotive specifications has to be planned well or else despite the very high cost and american technology it will be another blunder like the M9 which too caused the CGR a huge burden.

for eg:- it has to be light in weight since the upcountry track is very fragile due to the abuse from weather and land slide
has to provide sufficient traction for the ruling gradient (44/1) keeping in mind the turning radius so a Bo-Bo bogie set up is most appropriate.
Should be short in length especially wheel arrangements has to be compatible with strenuous tight turns that the track presents.
controls and other systems should be as simple as possible with minimal electronic control systems as local technicians are not familiar with complex electronics which was the case in M9.

some of the above examples are what made the Alstom prima (M9) fail miserably in this country which too was imported with the intention of deploying to the upcountry line from a premier locomotive manufacturer. Even worse is that it basically could not cope with local conditions at all which resulted in only 3-4 out of 10 imported to operate incurring huge losses to the state ralway.

As an ardent railway fan i can only hope that the purchase happens and if so cant wait to see another american locomotive in our fleet which is currently filled with substandard indian locomotives, But it will all be a waste if not properly planned with appropriate specifications
which would result a huge blow to the taxpayer who are waiting to experience a much better railway service on the scenic upcountry line.
and lastly let us hope that this is not yet another M9 which spoiled all hopes and made life difficult to the existing locomotives such as M6,M2c.

Are they going to retire the Henchel locos?

New train engines from US for upcountry line
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Sri Lanka plans to purchase 12 train engines at over USD 4 million each for the Sri Lanka Railways to us on the upcountry rail line.

The train engines will be procured from the General Electric Company in the United States at a cost of USD 4.056 million each as per the recommendation of the Standing Cabinet Appointed Procurement Committee (SCAPC).

Got these trains just before the 70th independence day air show.

I have heard that Sanath Jayasuriya has been admitted in Hospital in Australia? Its to do with his leg. Any update? I feel sorry for him.

Lets all of us pray for him to get well soon.