The Transport Ministry together with the Sri Lanka Tourism Development Authority (SLTDA) received Cabinet approval this week to go ahead with a project to turn unused railway carriages into backpacking tourist accommodations.
The Cabinet Paper put forward by Transport and Civil Aviation Minister Nimal Siripala De Silva proposed to use unused rail carriages by renovating them into accommodation units.
These renovated carriages are then to be placed in unused lands adjacent to the stations of; Colombo Railway Compound, Mahaiyyawa sub railway station, Nanuoya, Ambewela, Ella and Dondanduwa. These lands belonging to the Railway Department remain underutilised and thus the project also proposes that these accommodations pay a tax to the Railway Department for the use of the land, enabling the Department to earn extra revenue through the project.
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