Abstract
Growing of the automobile industry and the demand for personal car use and chronic financial deficits in the balance sheets of rail operators have significantly affected the rail industry deterioration since 1970. However, gradual rail reforms were carried out by many countries to eliminate financial and operational issues and to develop their rail transportation systems. Sri Lanka has more than 150 years of history in railway operations, yet it is still in a weak position in terms of the operational efficiency and the financial position. The main purpose of this paper is to explore the key issues and root causes for the operational and financial deficiencies of Sri Lanka Railways and identify the best reform model in the light of world rail reform experiences and rail industry experts’ opinion. A semi-structured questionnaire was employed to interview twelve railway industry experts. Content analysis, Analytical Hierarchy Process (AHP) Method, and Policy Delphi Method were the main analytical techniques employed in the study. The results of the analysis showed that the vertical separation of the ownership between rail service operation and rail infrastructure provision is suitable for Sri Lanka Railways and, given the existing operational and financial characteristics, the reform steps should mostly be designed as in the case of the German- Sweden hybrid model of rail reforms.
Highlights
The industrial revolutionary background along with the need for mass volumes of freight and passenger transportation led to railway industry innovations
The results of the analysis showed that the vertical separation of the ownership between rail service operation and rail infrastructure provision is suitable for Sri Lanka Railways and, given the existing operational and financial characteristics, the reform steps should mostly be designed as in the case of the German- Sweden hybrid model of rail reforms
The methodological framework of the research includes four stages: (a) Thematic analysis of literature on world railway reforms, (b) Descriptive analysis of eight years of SLR operational and financial performances to identify trends. (c) Thematic analysis of interview data collected from a Delphi method-based interviews to identify the issues and derive expert opinion on reforms (d) an analysis of data collected from a questionnaire survey of industry experts using Analytical Hierarchy Process (AHP) to identify major issues in Sri Lanka Railways
Summary
The industrial revolutionary background along with the need for mass volumes of freight and passenger transportation led to railway industry innovations. Innovating diesel engines and electric engines were the turning points in railway industry and thereby rail as a main passenger and freight transportation mode were commenced in many countries in the whole world. The rail network congestion, air pollution, and poor accessibility and the economic and the financial losses in passenger and freight transportation in rail industry were major issues that led to rail deterioration. Railway reforms were framed according to the country specific features such as the nature of transport system, the political context, the economic situation, the business and the regulatory environment, and the public sector continues to play a dominant role as infrastructure managers, and in some cases as service providers in a vertically integrated structure (Laurino, Ramella and Beria, 2015)
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