Niroza Gazzali, chief executive of SG Logistics, said they were working closely with Sri Lanka Railway to transport cargo to the port by rail in future which would reduce delays and pollution caused by trucking.“A train can generally carry around 20-24 TEUs (Twenty-foot Equivalent container Units). However, we decided to carry out the first operation with just 10 TEUs as we were unsure of the local track conditions for the operation. It was 100 percent successful.” 

A statement said the initiative to experiment with the use of rail to move containers was taken up due to SG Logistics’ partnership with DB Schenker Logistics and their focus on being more environmentally-conscious.

“Traditionally, in Sri Lanka, containers are transported via road – sometimes posing many logistical challenges and sometimes even leading to unforeseen delays,” the statement said.

“Using the railway network for transporting containers presents minimum pilferage opportunities and produces significantly less environmental pollution.

“Logistically, the rail network allows for bulk movement in one go and enables single point tracking.”

B A P Ariyaratne, General Manager of Sri Lanka Railways, said the rail network was initially built to transport coffee and tea from the hill country to Colombo for export.

“With population growth and the increase of passenger traffic in the 1960s the main source of business became passenger transport, overtaking freight.

“This is quite a big achievement after four decades, taking into consideration that all these operations were done by making use of the very limited resources we currently have,” Ariyaratne said.

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