Despite its primary role of providing efficient transport services, the Department of Railways failed to operate 70% of scheduled trains on time in 2023, an audit inquiry has revealed.

The findings, included in the Department of Railways’ annual report for 2023, were recently presented to Parliament. The audit revealed that out of 122,426 scheduled train runs, only 36,771 operated on time. Additionally, 10,531 trains were completely cancelled, further disrupting services.

Of the 113,759 planned passenger trains, only 36,053 ran on schedule. The audit also highlighted that frequent strikes, often based on insufficient grounds, caused significant inconvenience to the public and contributed to the department’s failure to deliver high-quality services.

Despite these alarming findings, the Department of Railways has yet to provide an official response to this issue, according to the audit report.