The 159 year-old railway department has to be revitalised in accordance with modern needs overcoming financial difficulties operational losses and a lack of investments to improve efficiency, he told the Business Times.

The Rs. 28.5 billion 5-year Railway Efficiency Improvement Project funded by the Asian Development Bank will be completed this year with a sum of Rs.1.21 billion available for capital expenditure for the final phase, he divulged.

The project will improve Sri Lanka railways service delivery and operational efficiency providing benefits for commuters.

He noted that maintaining a state entity is a burden for the country and the only option to make the department a profitable venture was to transform Sri Lanka Railways into an Authority.

Mr. Gunawardana said the country should get rid of official bureaucracy of the department and introduce a system which operates under a board of directors.

It will ensure job security of employees numbering around 17,000 and their pensions would be safeguarded, he elaborated adding that the department restructure should be similar to partial privatisation like the Sri Lanka Ports Authority (SLPA) and Sri Lanka Telecom.

As an initial step of Sri Lanka railways transformational journey, measures will be taken to enhance revenue by leasing out spaces in some stations in strategic locations, streamlining illegal occupancy of its lands, and increasing transport of goods and parcels, he disclosed.

Along with the redevelopment of land around railway stations in recent years, a new style of commercial facility will be coming up inside the buildings especially over platforms.

New railway station shopping malls and cafeterias suited to the active lifestyles of the people will be built and operated by the private sector making it a part of everyday life, of commuters and more comfortable and convenient for them, he assured.

With the shops located directly above the tracks, these facilities will help reduce shopping time for busy commuters, he added.

The ministry of transport has called for expression of interest from both local and foreign investors to take over upper floors on lease basis for any projects including super malls at these railway stations

These proposals will be opened on July 15, he said adding that all railway land occupants and new applicants have been requested to register with the railways department to establish their legality of the state land usage.