SLPP Jaffna District Organizer and Politburo Member Geethanath Cassilingam has called on the government to immediately reconsider its decision to reduce the Colombo–Kankesanthurai Intercity Express service, warning that the move would cause significant inconvenience to thousands of passengers travelling to the North ahead of the Nallur Kandaswamy Temple Festival.

In a statement, Cassilingam said the decision to scale back the service from daily operations to just four days a week was “poorly timed” as the annual Nallur Kandaswamy Temple Festival is expected to attract thousands of devotees, pilgrims and tourists from across Sri Lanka and overseas in the coming weeks.“This is the time to strengthen rail services to the North, not reduce them,” he said.

“Passengers travelling to and from the North have already been dealing with an insufficient number of trains and a timetable that does not adequately serve their needs. We have raised these concerns before and called for improvements to the existing schedule. Instead of addressing those issues, the Government has now decided to reduce services even further, creating unnecessary hardship for commuters, students, workers, businesses and families who depend on rail transport,” Cassilingam added. The explanation that there is a shortage of power sets is not new. If this has been an ongoing issue, why wasn’t it addressed well in advance of one of the busiest travel seasons in the North, he questioned. Cassilingam said he urged the Government and the Ministry of Transport to immediately review this decision, restore daily services on the Northern Line during the Nallur Kandaswamy Temple Festival period, and present a clear plan to address the long-standing shortage of trains.