Unions want Rs. 300 m railway museum project scrapped for carriage plant

Wednesday, 4 January 2017 00:00 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}

Railway unions have called into question a decision by the Government to construct a Rs. 300 million railway museum, charging that the exercise is aimed at raising profits for the privately-owned businesses connected to the project.

Writing to President Maithripala Sirisena, All Ceylon Railway Employees General Union General Secretary S. P. Vithanage said it was absurd that the Government was handing over the manufacture of train compartments/passenger cars to a private company claiming that Sri Lanka Railways lacks the technology and the resources for such an endeavour, when it could’ve spent the Rs. 300 million on establishing its own factory in Ratmalana to manufacture passenger cars.

Conceding that there is a need for a railway museum that showcases the 152 year history of the department, Vithanage said that a similar museum had already been opened in Kadugannawa at great cost where railway artifacts from the Museum of Colombo and elsewhere are exhibited. If there are any shortcomings at the Kadugannawa Railways Museum, said Vithanage, they must be addressed, but the newly proposed museum is threatening to turn the entire department into a museum.

Even though the Rs. 300 million for the proposed museum is raised by the People’s Bank, Merchant Bank and the People’s Leasing Company Ltd., that money is still better spent on providing an efficient train service to the public, said Vithanage.

According to Vithanage, railway museums exist around the island in addition to the one in Kadugannawa. Opining that all of these museums can be amalgamated at the Kadugannawa museum, he pointed out to the President that, instead, the hurried decision to build a brand new museum as a priority raises suspicions.

Charging that the project has political backing, Vithanage urged President Sirisena to immediately halt the ongoing construction work of the museum at the Maradana Railway Station premises and redirect the funds for the construction of a passenger car manufacturing plant in Ratmalana.

Vithanage ended the letter requesting the President to attend to the matter personally rather than merely forwarding it to the Minister of Transport.