Sri Lanka state bus service earns Rs1bn as rail remains unrepaired during key holiday

The Sri Lanka Transport Board has earned 1 billion rupees in the 6 days during the Sinhala and Tamil New Year holiday, which sees many people travel to their hometowns, its chairman Sajeewa Nandana Kanagaratne said in a statement.

April 11 was a record high of 213 million rupees for single-day income in SLTB history, it said.

Special bus services were launched from April 10-13 for those going out of Colombo and other cities, and from April 15 onwards for passengers returning to Colombo and other cities following the holiday, the National Transport Commission said.

400,000 plus passengers travelled from Colombo back home in private buses for the season as parts of the Sri Lanka Railways network remain heavily damaged following Cyclone Ditwah in late 2025.

Major lines like the upcountry line are unrepaired 5 months on.

Source: Economy Next