Imported railway carriages do not meet specifications – National Audit Office

By Lalith Chaminda

The Railway Department has spent 1.2 billion rupees under an Indian credit line to import 160 railway carriages, but it has failed to achieve any of the specified objectives, the National Audit Office (NAO) has revealed.The Department checked only 10 carriages and all others had been imported without any inspection, the report says.

A lot of technical issues have arisen as regards the carriages which are taller, wider and longer than the ones suitble for Sri Lankan tracks, the Audit Office has said.Some of these shorTcomings have affected the speeds of trains, the NAO has said.Railway officials were not immediatley available for comment.