Railways deny losses despite images of empty compartments circulating online

Colombo, August 11 (Daily Mirror) - Despite photos of empty railway compartments circulating on social media, the Sri Lanka Railways Department has denied incurring any losses from reserved seats.

A senior department official said that the railway accounts continue to show a profit at the end of each month.

Social media posts alleged that passengers were avoiding seat reservations due to black market ticket sellers. However, the official said all tickets for the compartments in question had been sold, even though only a handful of passengers traveled. On the Podi Menike express train to Badulla, just six locals and eight foreign nationals were on board despite the train being fully booked.

“Railway reservation tickets are issued using the national identity card numbers of local travelers and the passport numbers of foreign nationals,” the official explained.

He added that, despite repeated warnings, some passengers may still be purchasing tickets through unauthorized sellers. “However, all tickets were sold, and there has been no loss to the department,” he confirmed.

Earlier, the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) launched an investigation into a railway e-ticket scam reported in Ella, Kandy, Colombo, and the Makumbura MMC.