Sri Lanka Railways launches full-train refurbishment programme with S8-831 trial run

Sri Lanka Railways has launched a new programme to refurbish entire trains as complete units, with the fully restored S8-831 power set completing a trial run on August 14, 2026.

Deputy Minister of Transport and Highways Dr. Prasanna Gunasena said the programme has been introduced by the Ratmalana Chief Mechanical Engineer Sub-Department of Sri Lanka Railways.

Under the new approach, engines and carriages will no longer be repaired separately before being returned to service. Instead, complete trains will be refurbished as full units.

As part of the programme, a trial run of the fully refurbished S8-831 power set was carried out on Friday (August 14).

The refurbished power set is expected to be added to passenger services on Colombo suburban railway lines in the near future.