Even they explain that the quality is not as good as their own other carriages.

"However, officials emphasised that the coaches being made for Sri Lanka will not be as good as the revolutionary T18 coaches, which are likely to be rolled out in late June or early July."

Well as far as they subject of quality goes there are two sides. We all know the finishing the S11 had when it first arrived in sri lanka, it was quite simply shabby. The paint work was not neat and the metal sheets where no where near straight. Now itself most of the S11 have started to rust pretty badly and the fibre glass front faces have some cracks(may be from accidents). But above all is the appalling state of the brakes which failed miserably as S11s were involved in two large scale accidents ( alawwa and pothuhera) due to the imminent problems in brakes. So will safety of the passengers be compromised for others gain, we never know. All though this is a bit off topic the traction motors of the S11 has problems too it seems when asked from a reliable resource as it has been the reason why so many s11's have been sidelined at dematagoda( place where the Expo coaches are parked).
But on the other hand one aspect to be appreciated of the S11 is that it is equipped with air balloon suspension which is quite comfortable, and I could remember traveling back in 2011 that the compartment cabin was well furnished with fans although most were later vandalized and some stopped working.
But summing up we should agree that the S11 is the worst powerset (DMU) that was imported to sri lanka, so the authority should be careful and take a smarter choice given the past experiences but we all know anything can happen.
And how about the braking system will it have vacuum or air?

"General Electric (GE) Transportation has been selected to provide 12 diesel locomotives valued at US$ 48 million to the Sri Lanka Railways"

- "The 3000 horsepower engines would serve both passenger and cargo trains"

- "Initially one engine would be brought down and after a three month trial period, the other engines would be purchased"

3000 HP gives an indication that it could be a big locomotive, possibly C0-C0 axle arrangements ; hope it is not. Sri lanka railways badly needs locomotives that could haul trains in the hills as I've said before only a few existing locomotives could haul trains in the hills and even in out of those some locomotives are in very bad condition. I feel like even certain M6 locomotives have called it time in the hill terrain. It could barely pull 7 carriages on the kadugannawa incline ; locomotives like the M6 783 starts to struggle to gain traction from ihala kotte onwards and then on the journey is snail paced with the morning Kandy intercity with 7carriages (train no:1009/10).
Anyone travelling in either the senkadagala menike or the evening(3:30pm) Kandy ICE could you share your experience. These are 9 to 10 carriage consists usually hauled by M9 872 which is the only reliable M9 engine currently in service or a M5c with a helper engine. How do they perform on the incline?

But in this instance SLR had made a wise call by importing one locomotive first and testing it rather than bringing alot without testing which would then turn into blunders.

Matara Beliatta Railway Extension Project

The Matara – katharagama railway line, which is currently under construction, is the first rail track to be constructed since the end of British colonial rule. This newly constructed railway line does not only upgrade Sri Lanka’s railway network, but will also improve the economic development of the region.

Under the project, the southern region's largest railway station will be built at Beliatta while the Tunnel at Nakuttiya will be the longest tunnel in the country with an extent of 606 metres. Railway stations will be set up at Kekanadura, Babarenda and Wewrukannala while sub-stations will be set up at Piladuwa and Weherahena

A total of 229 acres belonging to 1,225 families were acquired for the project. Compensation up to Rs. 978 million was paid to them to launch the construction work.

Sri Lanka railways loses Rs7.5bn in 2017, exceeds revenues

Private company to operate new train services in H’tota District

Where did hear about this? Any links?

That is the end of building the rail line to Hambanthota?

No meaning of operating with strikers in SLR. Annual loss is higher than annual income.

THE Sri Lankan cabinet has approved plans to start the international tender process for a build-operate-transfer (BOT) project to build a rail link to serve Mattala International Airport.

The project will involve extending the railway, which is currently under construction between Matara and Beliatta, east via Hambantota and Kataragama to the airport which is on the south of the island state. The new line will be nearly 100km long.

The winner of the tender would be required to build the new line, installing signalling, and operate it using its own trains. The winner will be allowed to set fares and develop property along the line. If the new company wants to extend its passenger or freight services beyond Matara it will have to pay track access charges to Sri Lanka Railways.

The government estimates the cost of the project at around $US 800m.

Source-rail journal

The Sri Lankan government is planning to obtain US$ 48.67 million from Standard Chartered Band upon the aid of Canada Exports Development Institute to purchase 12 railway engines to service the upcountry railway line. (source-colombopage)

This morning the night mail plying from badulla (Train no: 1046) has broken down at ambepussa delaying all the office trains which follows. Does anyone know any further details regarding why it broke down?

South Africa in Sri Lanka

Sri Lanka completed a convincing 199-run demolition of South Africa at the Sinhalese Sports Club in Colombo, wrapping up a tidy 2-0 clean sweep of this short Test series.

Good to see Sri Lanka is returning to form. Any reason how Sri Lanka easily won South Africa this time?