UPDATE (4.15 PM): The strike action launched by the railway locomotive engineers and guards over several demands has been called off temporarily a short while ago, pending discussions with the Minister this evening.

All trains scheduled to depart from Colombo Fort cancelled due to a strike action launched by the railway locomotive engineers and guards, says the Ada Derana reporter.

The trade union action is based on several demands including the appointment of a General Manager of Railways, the provision of facilities for designing new carriages, the carrying out of repairs by the Railways Department and the suspension of importation of defective carriages from India.

Secretary of the Locomotive Engineering Operators’ Union (LEOU) Indika Dodangoda stressed that their trade union action will continue until their demands are met.

Twenty-one trade unions are expected to join the strike action, Dodangoda said further.

He noted that the authorities must take the responsibility for providing facilities to the people who are preparing to visit their hometowns for the Sinhala and Tamil New Year.