Sri Lankan rail profits from box trains after Tamil war

SRI LANKA Railways has earned LKR28 million (US$245,181) from transporting 300 containers loaded with essential goods and equipment for the Sri Lanka Army by rail to the nation`s north following a resumption of service after two decades.
Two special trains hauled the containers from Colombo Fort Railway station to Thandikulam station in Vavuniya, according to comments made by a Sri Lanka Railways spokesman to the Sri Lanka Daily News.
According a Railway Department spokesman charges LKR2,500 per kilometre to transport one container by rail to the north. The containerised rail freight service had been halted for the past 20 years due to the civil war.
"This move has already been very successful. We have received a number of orders from several private companies for container transportation," said the spokesman.
He said more trains will be deployed on the northern track soon to transport food and other goods for development activities to northern regions, the report added.