Tens of thousands stranded in Sri Lanka after surprise union strike

Hundreds of scheduled train journeys were canceled

Passengers walk on a platform next to a train during a railway union strike in Colombo, Sri Lanka, Wednesday (Copyright 2024 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.)

A railway union strike stopped most trains across Sri Lanka on Wednesday, leaving tens of thousands of passengers to brave the few dangerously overcrowded trains that kept running or be stranded at the station.

The Station Masters’ Union launched the strike to demand that vacancies be filled and other administrative issues be resolved.

Hundreds of scheduled train journeys were canceled Wednesday due to the strike, leaving the very few trains that ran jam-packed with passengers. Local TV stations showed people risking their lives to get to school and work, barely hanging on to the sides of the train while balancing on footboards made slippery by the rain.

Transport Minister Bandula Gunawardena condemned the strike, saying the union launched the strike in an arbitrary manner when the government was taking steps to resolve the issues they raised.

Sri Lanka Train Strike (Copyright 2024 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.)

During a similar strike in September, two passengers were killed while traveling on packed trains: One was traveling on the roof of a compartment when his head hit an overhead railway bridge, and the other succumbed to injuries after he fell from the train’s footboard.

Sri Lanka’s train services are substandard, with poorly maintained compartments and tracks because of years of mismanagement and a lack of proper planning. Frequent and sudden strikes have exacerbated the situation, with most trains experiencing delays.