Transport Minister Bandula Gunawardana said that a fare revision should be made to keep train fares lower than bus fares by one third.
Speaking in Parliament today (24), the minister said that a decision based on principle should be taken in this regard.
He also said that the time has come to amend the laws to make the Railways Department an authority.
“We hope to fully digitize ticket issuance and seat reservation within three months. After that, there should be a revision in fares. We should take a policy decision to keep the train fares one-third lower than the bus fares and revise the fares accordingly. It is difficult to make some decisions since the Railways is a department. The institution should deviate from the departmental system in order to maintain efficiency. An Act was drafted in 2001 and 2002 to create a railways authority. I will release this draft to the trade unions and relevant authorities to amend it as necessary. We need support in this initiative on behalf of the future of the country,” he said.
(Aruna)
