20 April 2019 12:01 am
A large number of commuters using train services during the holidays, especially during the long weekend, faced severe inconvenience because of several derailments that had occurred recently.
Two trains derailed on Thursday; one between Colombo Fort and Maradana Railway Stations and the other near the Polgahawela Railway Station.
Many commuters opting to travel by trains on the mainline had faced delays of several hours at the Alawwa Railway Station because of the derailment at Polgahawela.
One commuter told Daily Mirror that none of the officials at the Colombo Fort Railway Station informed them of an ongoing train delay.
“We only found out about the delay when we arrived at Alawwa in a packed train. On the one hand, there were not enough trains to accommodate the large number of commuters using the train service during the holidays and on the other hand the authorities lacked proper communication,” he said.
The commuter said if the authorities had informed the commuters about there being a long delay, they could have simply taken a bus to their destination instead of being stuck in a packed train.
However, the railway control room said last evening that the derailment at Polgahawela had been cleared and that there would be no more train delays.
We only found out about the delay when we arrived at Alawwa in a packed train. On the one hand, there were not enough trains to accommodate the large number of commuters using the train service during the holidays