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Wednesday December 6th, 2023

Sri Lanka to introduce new trains including luxury services to manage costs: minister

ECONOMYNEXT – Sri Lanka will be introducing three new trains into operation to ease the burden on travellers during the ongoing fuel crisis, authorities said.

Minister of Transport and Highways Bandula Gunawardane told reporters on Monday (13) that a new luxury weekend train will operate from Colombo to Kandy “to curb the cost for people going to spend the weekend in Jaffna, and allow them to travel comfortably.”

The train will leave for Jaffna from Colombo on Friday night and return to Colombo by Monday morning.

A daily train from Colombo to Kandy, and a daily office train from Kalani Valley to Colombo Fort will also begin operations from Wednesday (15).

The minister said that the new train will be a welcome addition for office workers.

It was noted that the daily Colombo Anuradhapura route which was in its testing stages will be continued as a permanent route.

Gunawardhana added that 20 new school buses will also be added to the system from Wednesday, and that the number will increase to 50 within a month.

Steps will also be taken to make bus routes longer for the convenience of office goers, the minister said.

Sri Lanka’s fuel crisis and rising transport costs are forcing many to change their commuting habits, but the state of the country’s public transport leaves much to be desired.

Due to difficulties in obtaining fuel, less than one third of private buses are in operation. The government recently announced that it would mitigate the issue by allowing private buses to refuel from CTB depots, but commuters say that there is a noticeable lack of buses on the road. (Colombo/Jun13/2022)

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  1. sacre blieu says:

    many will fill up at the CTB depots and go back and siphon it into their barrels, due lack of confidence in the uninterrupted supply schedules.

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  1. sacre blieu says:

    many will fill up at the CTB depots and go back and siphon it into their barrels, due lack of confidence in the uninterrupted supply schedules.

Sri Lanka rupee closes stronger at 327.40/90 to the US dollar

ECONOMYNEXT – Sri Lanka’s rupee closed at 327.40/90 to the US dollar on Tuesday, from 328.10/30 the previous day, dealers said.

Bond yields were stable.

A bond maturing on 01.06.2025 closed at 13.60/70 percent from 13.70/14.00 percent.

A bond maturing on 01.08.2026 closed at 13.90/14.00 percent from 13.90/14.10 percent.

A bond maturing on 15.01.2027 closed at 14.00/15 percent from 14.00/14.10 percent.

A bond maturing on 01.07.2028 closed at 14.10/20 percent from 14.20/35 percent.

A bond maturing on 15.05.2030 closed at 14.20/35 percent, from 14.25/45 percent.

A bond maturing on 01.07.2032 closed at 14.10/35 percent, from 14.05/40 percent. (Colombo/Dec5/2023)

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Sri Lanka stocks close down as investor sentiment dips

ECONOMYNEXT – The Colombo Stock Exchange closed down on Tuesday, CSE data showed.

The All Share Price Index was down 0.40 percent, or 43.50 points, at 10,700.09.

The S&P SL20 index was up 0.43 percent, or 13.32 points, at 3,054.41.

Turnover was at 711 million. The capital goods sector contributed 172 million, the food, beverage and tobacco sector contributed 140 million, and banks 113 million of this.

Top positive contributors to the ASPI in the day were John Keells Holdings Plc (up at 193.00), Richard Pieris And Company Plc (up at 19.80), and Nation Lanka Finance Plc, (up at 0.40).

Negative contributors were Commercial Bank of Ceylon Plc (down at 89.70), Sampath Bank Plc (down at 71.00), and Central Finance Company Plc, (down at 106.00). (Colombo/Dec5/2023).

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Sri Lanka plans to reduce number of school grades from 13 to 12

ECONOMYNEXT – The Ministry of Education proposes to reduce the number of school grades from 13 to 12, according to a government information department statement.

“Every child will be given the opportunity to finish school in 17 years through the proposed new education reforms,” education officials were quoted as saying after a discussion on budget allocations.

Under the proposed system, pre-school education will be at the age of 4 years, the primary section between grades 1-5, junior section between grades 6-8, and senior section between grades 9-12.

The General Certificate of Education Ordinary Level Exam (GCE O/L) is proposed to be conducted in grade 10, and the Advanced Level Examination in grade 12.

It has also been decided to reduce the number of mandatory subjects at the GCE O/L Exam from 9 to 7.

Three new subjects, information and communication technology (ICT), technical and professional skills, and religion and values will be made mandatory and included in those 7 subjects. (Colombo/Dec5/2023)

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