Sri Lanka: Railway Master Plan

Transport / Transport policies and institutional development

The proposed technical assistance will prepare a strategy for the strategic development of the railway transport sector and the multimodal integration of railway transport with other modes of transport. Institutional reforms to improve efficiency within the sector will be studied and recommendations for improvements provided.

The proposed technical assistance is in line with the government's priority investment areas for projects and programs identified under the draft CPS for Sri Lanka, i.e., to upgrade and expand infrastructure by supporting strategic investments and policy reforms in key sectors such as transport, energy, and urban development. It will establish a strategy for the development of the railway sector and its integration into a multimodal transport system in Sri Lanka complementing road, air and sea transport: it will also develop a pipeline prioritizing strategic interventions in the railway sector for infrastructure development and capacity building.

The proposed TA is ADB's first sector-wide intervention in the Sri Lanka rail transport sector and will pave the way for a coordinated approach into sector development by ADB and development partners. This will supplement prior and ongoing investments in the road sector in rural roads, national roads and expressways as well as investments in the maritime sector, i.e., in the Colombo Port Project. The proposed TA is timely, as ADB is in parallel supporting the preparation of the National Port Master Plan for Sri Lanka and the upgrade of the Road Sector Master Plan.

The impact of the proposed TA will be mobility through a safe and affordable integrated public land transport system with wide multimodal mix and technological innovation provided. The outcome of the proposed TA will be a strategy for the development of the railway sector established. The main output of the TA will be the Railway Master Plan prepared.

Transport in Sri Lanka is based mainly on the road network which is centered on the capital and commercial hub Colombo. Road transport accounts for about 93% of the land transport in Sri Lanka. There are 12,000 kilometers (km) of national highways and 152 km of expressways. Buses are the principal mode of public transport. Bus services are provided by the state-run Sri Lanka Transport Board (SLTB) and by privately-run buses. SLTB serves both urban and rural routes, which are often unprofitable. The railway network only handles a small fraction of the country's transport needs. Rail transport in Sri Lanka consists of a heavy-rail intercity network connecting the main cities of all nine provinces in the country with Colombo, and commuter rail services in Colombo and the Western Province. Sri Lanka has four deep-sea ports including Colombo Port, a major transshipment port in South Asia, and two international airports located in Colombo and in Hambantota in the south.

Sri Lanka Railway Department under the Ministry of Transport and Civil Aviation, branded as Sri Lanka Railways (SLR), is the owner and primary operator with a history that begins in 1858. At its peak during the first half of the 20th century, it shouldered to over 80% of the total freight transport market, while its share of passenger market was over 35%. Successive governments took steps to develop the railway transportation; but most of the efforts were mainly on running the rail network at basic levels. Wide-spread expansion of the road network, the gradual advancement of road-based motorized transportation, the relative policy neglect of the railway system, and also the bureaucratic and non-commercial nature of the management system contributed to this stagnation, resulting to the weakening performance of SLR. This has led to erosion of its market share: nowadays less than 1% of the freight market and about 5% of the passenger market is catered to by the SLR.

Presently, the railway network consists of 1,508 km with 1,676 millimeters broad gauge. SLR operates approximately 396 trains which include 67 long-distance and 16 intercity trains. The railway network centered in Colombo and the Western Province with a population of 5.8 million (29% of the country). Western provincial share of the national gross domestic product (GDP) is around 43% and has recorded the highest per capita income of $2,922 in 2012. Almost 90% of the railway network of the country is single track, with 126 km of double tracks, 14 km of three tracks and 3 km of four tracks. All multiple lines are located in the Western Province. The suburban network in the Western Province totals around 230 km and carries more than 80% of SLR's passengers. The railway network includes a link to Colombo Port, the main seaport.

The Government of Sri Lanka's strategy for the public transport and railway sector outlined in the Public Investment Programme (PIP) 2017-2020 is to meet the present and future passenger and goods transport demand by ensuring quality, safety and affordability with the widest possible mode mix and technological innovations in order to provide mobility requirement. The PIP intends to (i) increase the share of railway passenger transport from 5% in 2015 to 10% by 2020; (ii) increase the share of railway freight transport from 1% to 5% by 2020; and (iii) increase the share of public transport passenger movement in Sri Lanka from the present level of 58% to 65% by 2020. The government intends to achieve the targets set out in the PIP by improving the railway system in both institutional and management areas, harmonize land use planning with infrastructure development, improve multimodal integration, etc.