Engine driver abandons Beliatta-bound train in Koggala

• Over 500 passengers were stranded for five hours until the next train arrived 

 By D.G. Sugathapala   

A Beliatta-bound train from Maradana abruptly came to a halt at Koggala Railway Station last Thursday afternoon when the engine driver left the train, citing ill health.   

This resulted in the passengers being stranded for about five hours until the next train to Beliatta arrived late in the evening. The Koggala Station Master said the train had more than 500 passengers on board.   

The driver had informed the Officer-in- Charge of the drivers and left. Railway officials said they had not heard from him until the following morning, nor had they received any information regarding his admission to a hospital. They said further action would be taken after he reports for duty. A senior railway official in Galle said the train, which usually takes just 20 minutes to travelfrom Galle to Koggala, had taken one and a half hours yesterday. A driver on standby duty had been deployed to drive the empty train from Koggala to Matara, where it terminated.