Railway strike Sri Lanka: Why 27 unions are demanding the GM’s removal, which trains are cancelled, and how long the disruption will last.

Colombo, September 17 — Sri Lanka’s railway network ground to a halt at midnight as 27 trade unions launched a 48-hour token strike. The unions want one thing above all else: the removal of Railways General Manager Ravindra Pathmapriya. Talks with the Transport Ministry collapsed just two days before the strike began, and commuters across the country are now paying the price.

Six night trains never left the platform on September 16. The Batticaloa train, scheduled to depart Colombo Fort at 7:00 p.m., stayed parked. The Kankesanthurai service, due out at 8:00 p.m., did not run. Even the Night Mail train to Batticaloa, a service passengers rely on for late connections, was pulled from the schedule at 9:30 p.m. Officials at the Department of Railways gave no formal confirmation before the cancellations happened, leaving travelers to find out the hard way.

Why Railway Workers Walked Out

The strike did not come out of nowhere. Station Masters’ Union Secretary Sumedha Somaratne says the Railway Department has been sliding into dysfunction for months. He points to a stark number: daily train operations have dropped from around 450 to just 184. That is a collapse of more than half the country’s rail capacity, and it has hit long-distance travelers the hardest.

Somaratne also raises a second concern that has nothing to do with delays or breakdowns. He alleges financial irregularities in how the department issues season tickets — a claim that, if confirmed, would point to deeper administrative failure inside the institution.

Locomotive Officers’ Association Secretary S.R.C.M. Senanayake backs up the frustration. His union followed every rule in the book, he says, giving the required 14-day notice before the strike. Yet he claims neither department authorities nor the ministers responsible offered real solutions. For unions that have waited nearly two years for change, patience finally ran out.

The Spark: A Disciplinary Letter

The immediate trigger traces back to one man: Kasun Chamara Jayasekara, General Secretary of the Sri Lanka Railway Station Masters’ Union and Co-Convenor of the Railway Joint Trade Union Alliance. The GM’s office issued Jayasekara a letter seeking an explanation over comments he made to the media about train delays, engine shortages, and cancellations.

Jayasekara says he was only doing his job. “We have been calling on the GM to grant us a meeting to discuss these issues, but he doesn’t do it,” he told reporters before the strike. He argues that raising public concerns is exactly what a trade union representative is supposed to do, and that the disciplinary letter amounts to retaliation for speaking honestly.

The GM sees it differently. Pathmapriya insists he has not actually taken disciplinary action against Jayasekara — only asked him to explain his public statements. He defends the letter as a response to what he calls alarming language, arguing that warning the public the department “will collapse tomorrow” does more harm than good. As for stepping down, Pathmapriya says that decision belongs to the Cabinet that appointed him, not to the unions demanding his exit.

Ministry Secretary Asiri Karunawardena tried to defuse tensions before the strike, instructing railway administration to suspend the letter against Jayasekara. It was not enough. The unions wanted the General Manager gone, and a suspended letter did not answer that demand.

Talks Collapse, Strike Confirmed

Monday’s meeting between the Ministry Secretary and union representatives was the last real chance to avoid a shutdown. The Secretary reportedly agreed that rebuilding the Railway Department was a legitimate goal and even conceded that issuing the letter to Jayasekara had been inappropriate. But on the central demand — removing the GM — he asked for more time.

The unions refused. Two years of unresolved grievances was already too long, they said, and they would not extend the deadline again. With no compromise reached, the Railway Joint Trade Union Alliance confirmed the 48-hour token strike would proceed exactly as planned, running through September 17 and 18.

Government Draws a Hard Line

Transport, Highways and Urban Development Minister Bimal Rathnayake rejected the union’s core demand outright. “We cannot agree to the demand presented by railway trade unions to remove the Railways General Manager, nor can we manage the institution in that manner,” he said, adding that he does not consider the GM issue the real problem behind the department’s struggles.

Rathnayake also suggested political motives were in play, urging the public to consider that some of the unions involved “have certain political affiliations.” At the same time, he acknowledged the strike would cause real inconvenience and pointed to the ministry’s response: 100 newly recruited assistant train drivers and coordination with the Sri Lanka Transport Board and private bus operators to run extra buses on major commuter routes.

Whether extra buses can absorb the volume of daily train passengers remains an open question. Sri Lanka’s railways move tens of thousands of commuters on a normal day, and buses alone rarely match that capacity, especially on long-distance corridors like Colombo–Batticaloa and Colombo–Trincomalee.

Who Is Behind the Strike

The scale of this action sets it apart from earlier railway disputes. Twenty-seven trade unions are involved this time, representing an unusually broad cross-section of the department’s workforce: station masters, locomotive drivers, controllers, cabin crew, shunting staff, Ratmalana railway workshop employees, and general station staff.

For the first time in the department’s history, railway passenger associations have publicly backed a union strike. Somaratne says this shift reflects how badly commuters have been affected by delays, cancellations, and shortages — problems ordinary passengers face every day, not just railway employees.

What Passengers Should Expect

With the strike now in effect, commuters should brace for widespread disruption through September 18. Long-distance services to the Eastern and Northern provinces — including Batticaloa, Trincomalee, and Kankesanthurai — appear most exposed, based on the services already cancelled the night before the strike began. Passengers are advised to check with the Department of Railways directly before heading to any station, since official confirmations have lagged behind the reported cancellations throughout this dispute.

The Transport Ministry says extra SLTB and private buses will run on major routes to ease the pressure, but travelers on affected lines should plan for longer journeys, crowded alternatives, and the possibility of last-minute changes.

What Happens Next

Union leaders have not ruled out further action. Jayasekara has warned that if the government “fails to listen to us and take proper action,” a continuous, open-ended strike could follow the current 48-hour action. That would mark a serious escalation, with far greater consequences for the national transport network.

For now, the standoff comes down to one unresolved question: will the government remove General Manager Ravindra Pathmapriya, or will it hold its position and wait out the unions? Neither side has shown signs of backing down, and with passenger associations now standing alongside the unions for the first time, the pressure on the Transport Ministry is only growing.

FAQ’s

1. Why are Sri Lanka’s railway unions striking?
The unions are protesting the leadership of Railways General Manager Ravindra Pathmapriya. They want the government to remove him and address long-standing administrative and service problems in the department.

2. How long will the railway strike last?
The strike is a 48-hour token action. It began at midnight on September 16 and runs through September 18.

3. Which trains are cancelled because of the strike?
Several long-distance night trains were cancelled ahead of the strike, including the Colombo Fort–Batticaloa service, the Colombo Fort–Kankesanthurai service, and the Night Mail train to Batticaloa. More cancellations are expected during the 48-hour window.

4. Will there be alternative transport during the strike?
Yes. The Transport Ministry says it is coordinating with the Sri Lanka Transport Board (SLTB) and private bus operators to add extra buses on major commuter routes affected by the strike.

5. Could the strike continue beyond 48 hours?
It’s possible. Union leaders have warned that if the government does not act on their demands, they may launch a continuous, open-ended strike after the initial 48-hour action ends.