COPA visits Ratmalana Railway Maintenance Yard

A large area of the worksite covered with machinery and equipment that needs to be removed – Committee Members

Members of the Committee on Public Accounts (COPA) undertook a field investigation visit to the Ratmalana Railway Maintenance Yard.

This observational visit was conducted on May 22, under the directives of MP Aravinda Senarath, the Chair of the Committee. Participating in this visit were the State Minister Sugath Thilakaratne and Members of Parliament Chandana Sooriyaarachchi, Oshani Umanga, Ruwanthilaka Jayakody, Thushari Jayasinghe, Attorney-at-Law, T.K. Jayasundara, Susantha Kumara Nawarathna, and (Dr.) Janaka Senarathna.

During the COPA meeting held on the 9th to discuss the Auditor General’s Report for 2023 and the current performance of the Department of Railways, it was disclosed that 63 railway engines and 40 power sets belonging to the department had been parked within the premises of the Main Mechanical Engineering Office and railway stations in Ratmalana for a period ranging from 1 to 8 years. It was also observed that the machinery and workshops of the Department of Railways were underutilized. In light of these findings, Members of Parliament undertook this observational visit to further investigate the matter.

During the visit, Mr. Nishantha Perera, Chief Mechanical Engineer at the Ratmalana Railway Maintenance Yard, and Ms. Nilupa Ekanayake, Deputy Mechanical Engineer, briefed the Members of Parliament on the relevant sites, and demonstrated the practical operations of the respective areas.

Following the site inspection, the Hon. Members of Parliament pointed out that a large portion of the yard was occupied by removed machinery and equipment. They also highlighted that certain machinery was not stored in environmentally appropriate conditions, and that some equipment had been purchased in excessive quantities. The Members stated that all findings from this observational visit would be presented to the Committee on Public Accounts as well as to the Ministerial Consultative Committee on Transport.

A group of officials from Parliament also participated in this observational visit.