General Discussion

It means how much and the maximum load the locomotive can can haul.

Do you know their designation. Like this load bearing locomotive can haul this tonnage.

Not very sure, sorry.

Facebook used to have a dedicated page on sri lanka railways known as sri lanka railway foreigners forum and there seems to be no sign of it now. Wonder what happened,

Can remember it posted memorable photos like the class M8A hauling the badulla night mail(1045/46), M4 and W2 hauling udarate menike, M2 alone pulling 10 carriages on the hill countries ruling incline.

Is there any place I can find those photographs?
Thank you

Foreigner's Forum is no more.

Sri Lanka to modernize railway sector

COLOMBO, Nov. 28 (Xinhua) -- Sri Lanka will modernize its age old railway sector by purchasing over 100 new railway carriages and engines, and developing railway stations, Transport Minister Nimal Siripala De Silva, quoted by state media, said on Tuesday.

De Silva said this will also help the government to strengthen the country's public transportation sector as a majority of Sri Lankans depended on public transport on a daily basis.

The minister said these plans were part of the Colombo suburban railway project which is to be funded by the Asian Development Bank(ADB).

Under this plan, the Transport and Civil Aviation Ministry together with Sri Lanka Railways will construct new parallel railway lines and modernize railway stations.

New railway lines will also be put in place to connect the capital Colombo to the Bandaranaike International Airport.

Thousands of tourists who visit Sri Lanka per year depend on Sri Lanka's railway sector to explore many areas of the island.

Source:xingzhou net

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.

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

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).

Are they going to retire the Henchel locos?

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.

New coaches for SLR from ICF in India.

What do you think of the quality of ICF Coaches?

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.

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.