Colombo Metropolitan Region Transport Master Plan

FINAL REPORT

Prepared under the Technical Cooperation of Japan International

Cooperation Agency (JICA)

Reviewed and Improved by the Department of Transport & Logistics

Management, University of Moratuwa

Ministry of Internal Transport

Colombo – Sri Lanka

July 2015
Colombo Metropolitan Region Transport Master Plan

FINAL REPORT

Prepared under the Technical Cooperation of Japan International

Cooperation Agency (JICA)

Reviewed and Improved by the Department of Transport & Logistics

Management, University of Moratuwa

Ministry of Internal Transport

Colombo – Sri Lanka

July 2015

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 Table of Contents

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY ................................................................................................................... II

Short Term (2020) .............................................................................................................................................. x

Medium Term (2025) ........................................................................................................................................ xi

Long Term (2035) ............................................................................................................................................. xii

PART A: BACKGROUND.................................................................................................................. 1

A.1 Introduction ______________________________________________________________________ 3

A.1.1 Introduction to Western Province/Colombo Metropolitan Region ...................................................... 3

A.1.2 Transport in the CMR ............................................................................................................................ 4

A.1.3 Colombo ................................................................................................................................................ 5

A.1.4 CoMTrans Study .................................................................................................................................... 5

A.1.5 Scope and Objective of this Report ....................................................................................................... 6

A.1.6 Terms of Reference ............................................................................................................................... 6

A.1.7 Structure of the Report ......................................................................................................................... 6

A.1.8 Master Plan Methodology .................................................................................................................... 8

A.1.9 Study Team ........................................................................................................................................... 9

A.1.10 Acknowledgements .......................................................................................................................... 9

A.2 Introduction Transport In Study Area _________________________________________________ 10

A.2.1 Passenger and Traffic Flows to Colombo ............................................................................................ 10

A.2.2 Public Transport .................................................................................................................................. 10

A.2.3 Factors for Congestion ........................................................................................................................ 11

A.2.4 Primary Characteristics of the Transport Network ............................................................................. 11

A.3 Transport and Environmental Issues __________________________________________________ 20

A.3.1 Characteristics of Natural Land ........................................................................................................... 20

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 A.3.2 Major Contributors for Air Pollution ................................................................................................... 20

A.3.3 Climatic Change ................................................................................................................................... 21

A.4 Review of Previous Urban Studies for CMR ____________________________________________ 22

A.4.1 Patrick Geddes Plan-1921 ................................................................................................................... 22

A.4.2 Patrick Abercrombie Plan-1949 .......................................................................................................... 22

A.4.3 Colombo Masterplan-1978 ................................................................................................................. 22

A.4.4 Colombo City Development Plan-1985 ............................................................................................... 22

A.4.5 Colombo Metropolitan Regional Structure Plan/Colombo Development Plan-1999 ......................... 23

A.4.6 Colombo Urban Transport Study -1999 .............................................................................................. 24

A.4.7 Colombo Urban Transport Study -2006 .............................................................................................. 25

A.4.8 JICA CoMTrans Master Plan Study ...................................................................................................... 26

A.4.9 Summary of Recommendations from Previous Plans ......................................................................... 26

A.5 Implementation of Previous Urban and Transport Master plans ___________________________ 28

PART B- COLOMBO METROPOLITAN REGIONAL TRANSPORT MASTERPLAN ......... 31

B.1 Major Mobility Issues Identified _____________________________________________________ 33

B.1.1 There is an Income-led Rapid Increase in Mobility ............................................................................. 33

B.1.2 Rapid Motorization Creates Congestion ............................................................................................. 33

B.1.3 Failure of Road Building as Strategy to Manage Congestion .............................................................. 34

B.1.4 Failure to Integrate Urban Land Use Strategy and Mobility Provision................................................ 34

B.1.5 Failure to Arrest the Deterioration in the quality of Urban Livability ................................................. 34

B.1.6 Failure to Arrest the Increasing Cost of Transport and Economic Viability......................................... 34

B.1.7 Failure to Align Transport Policy To Change & Modernization ........................................................... 35

B.1.8 Failure to Invest on Urban Public Transport and Traffic Management ............................................... 35

B.1.9 Failure to Arrest the Deterioration in the Quality of Public Transport ............................................... 36

B.1.10 Failure to Provide modal choice and integration of Services ......................................................... 36

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 B.1.11 Failure of Public Transport Institutions To Improve Sector Performance ...................................... 37

B.2 Recommendations For A Strategic Transport Masterplan ________________________________ 37

B.2.1 Planning Horizons................................................................................................................................ 37

B.2.2 Planning Process ................................................................................................................................. 37

B.2.3 Socio-Economic Growth Scenarios ...................................................................................................... 38

B.2.4 Vehicle Growth Forecasts ................................................................................................................... 38

B.2.5 Do Nothing Scenario- 2020 ................................................................................................................. 39

B.2.6 Policy Intervention to Avoid Middle Income Trap .............................................................................. 40

B.2.7 Urban Transport Management Policy ................................................................................................. 42

B.2.8 Transit Oriented Development ........................................................................................................... 45

B.2.9 Transport Technology for Corridors .................................................................................................... 48

B.2.10 Buses with High Level of Service (BHLS) ......................................................................................... 49

B.3 Recommendations For Transport Development Projects _________________________________ 50

B.3.1 Recommendations for Developing Transport on Corridors ................................................................ 50

B.3.2 Order of Importance of Improving Corridors ...................................................................................... 51

B.4 Sequencing Development Programs (2015-2035) _______________________________________ 56

B.4.1 Short Term Proposals (2020)............................................................................................................... 57

B.4.2 Medium-Term Proposal ...................................................................................................................... 61

B.4.3 Long Term (2035) ................................................................................................................................ 64

B.5 Recommended List of Transport Programs (2015-2035) __________________________________ 66

B.5.1 Allocation for Inter-Modal Development ............................................................................................ 67

B.5.2 Capital Investment Requirement of Development Program .............................................................. 67

B.5.3 Financing Recurrent Costs of Development Program ......................................................................... 68

B.6 Recommendations For Institutional Development ______________________________________ 70

B.6.1 Policy Interventions............................................................................................................................. 70

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 B.6.2 Set up Mechanism for Integrated Urban Transport Planning & Development ................................... 71

B.6.3 Setup a Colombo Metro Urban Transport Development Cell (CoMTraD Cell) within UDA ................ 71

B.6.4 Reconstitute the Inter-Ministerial Committee for Coordinated Policy and Planning of Transport
(IMCCPPT)......................................................................................................................................................... 74

B.6.5 A Single Ministry for Transport & Highways ....................................................................................... 75

B.6.6 General Institutional Capacity Building ............................................................................................... 75

ANNEXTURE– MAPS SHOWING PROPOSED DEVELOPMENTS ........................................ 77

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 List of Tables

TABLE A-1: DAILY PASSENGER FLOWS AT THE CMC BOUNDARY – BOTH DIRECTIONS (1965-2013) __________ 10

TABLE A-2 : TRAFFIC GROWTH AT THE CMC BOUNDARY (1985 – 2012) (BI-DIRECTIONAL) ________________ 11

TABLE A-3 : RAILWAY LINES IN SRI LANKA _______________________________________________________ 12

TABLE A-4: BUS PASSENGER KM AND MODAL SHARE IN CMR (2010-2013) ____________________________ 17

TABLE A-5 : BUS AND RAILWAY OPERATIONS IN CMR _____________________________________________ 18

TABLE A-6 : MAIN OBJECTIVES AND GOALS OF CMRSP _____________________________________________ 23

TABLE A-7 : PROJECT PLANS PROPOSED BY THE CUTS2 ____________________________________________ 24

TABLE A-8 : SUMMARY OF PREVIOUS STUDIES ___________________________________________________ 27

TABLE A-9 : PROPOSED MAJOR DEVELOPMENT AREAS FROM PREVIOUS MASTER PLANS _________________ 28

TABLE A-10 : PROPOSED PROJECTS FOR SEVEN CORRIDORS ________________________________________ 28

TABLE A-11: LEVEL OF IMPLEMENTATION OF TRANSPORT PLANS ____________________________________ 29

TABLE B-1: GROWTH SCENARIOS ______________________________________________________________ 38

TABLE B-2: SUMMARY EVALUATION OF DO NOTHING SCENARIO -2020 _______________________________ 40

TABLE B-3: CRITICAL FACTORS FOR DETERMINING TRANSPORT STRATEGY IN CMR, CMC AREAS ___________ 44

TABLE B-4 : DESCRIPTION OF TOD CENTRES AND TRANSPORT CENTRES/HUBS _________________________ 46

TABLE B-5: RANKING OF PROJECTS TESTED FOR CORRIDORS ________________________________________ 50

TABLE B-6: PROGRAMS RECOMMENDED FOR EACH PLANNING PERIOD _______________________________ 66

TABLE B-7: FINANCIAL COST OF PROJECTS AND POTENTIAL SOURCES OF FINANCING ____________________ 67

TABLE B-8: VEHICLE OPERATING COSTS BY MODE BY COST AND YEAR ________________________________ 68

TABLE B-9: ANNUAL ESTIMATED REVENUES FROM PUBLIC TRANSPORT AT CURRENT FARES ______________ 68

TABLE B-10: CROSS SUBSIDY REQUIREMENT TO MAINTAIN ZERO O&M SUBSIDY BY GOVERNMENT AT CURRENT
FARES _______________________________________________________________________________ 69

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 List of Figures

FIGURE A-1 : TRANSPORT MAP IN CMR __________________________________________________________ 4

FIGURE A-2 : MASTER PLAN PROCESS ___________________________________________________________ 7

FIGURE A-3 : RAILWAY NETWORK IN SRI LANKA AND CMR _________________________________________ 13

FIGURE A-4 : NATIONAL AND CMR ROAD NETWORK ______________________________________________ 15

FIGURE A-5: MODAL SHARE OF PUBLIC TRANSPORT IN CMR ________________________________________ 18

FIGURE A-6 : POLICY MEASURES FOR URBAN TRANSPORT POLICY ___________________________________ 26

FIGURE B-1: INTERNATIONAL VEHICLE OWNERSHIP RATE CHANGES WITH PER CAPITA INCOME ___________ 39

FIGURE B-2: CURRENT TRANSPORT POLICY ______________________________________________________ 41

FIGURE B-3: PROPOSAL FOR TRANSPORT POLICY ________________________________________________ 42

FIGURE B-4: TRENDS IN VEHICLE OWNERSHIP WITH PER CAPITA INCOME INCREASES____________________ 43

FIGURE B-5: FACTORS THAT LIMIT VEHICLE OWNERSHIP ___________________________________________ 43

FIGURE B-6: PROPOSED PUBLIC TRANSPORT INTENSIVE AREAS (SRI LANKA) ___________________________ 44

FIGURE B-7: PROPOSED TRANSIT ORIENTED DEVELOPMENT CENTRES ________________________________ 46

FIGURE B-8: CARRYING CAPACITY AND COST OF URBAN TRANSPORT TECHNOLOGY _____________________ 48

FIGURE B-9: PROPOSED IMPLEMENTATION OF DEVELOPMENT PROJECTS AND PROGRAMS _______________ 57

FIGURE B-10: MULTI MODAL TRANSPORT NETWORK DEVELOPMENT 2020 ____________________________ 60

FIGURE B-11: MULTI MODAL TRANSPORT NETWORK DEVELOPMENT  2025 __________________________ 63

FIGURE B-12: MULTIMODAL TRANSPORT NETWORK DEVELOPMENT  2035 ___________________________ 65

FIGURE B-13 : FUNCTIONING OF THE PROPOSED COMTRAD CELL ____________________________________ 73

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EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

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Objective
1. The objective of this study is to prepare a transport master plan covering the next 20 years
for the Colombo Metropolitan Region (CMR) based on the CoMTrans Study carried out with
technical assistance from JICA and its review conducted by the Department of Transport & Logistics
Management, University of Moratuwa.

Background

2. Colombo is the centre of commercial and administrative functions in Sri Lanka. It is also the
central transport node for road and rail and the country’s international gateway. Colombo, the
leading city in Sri Lanka and the Western Province which is referred to as the CMR in this report, are
expected to continue as the nation’s economic drivers. The Western Province has potential to
develop as a modern international city.

3. While land use development in the CMR continues rapidly, infrastructure development for
many public utilities such as water supply, electricity, ICT, sewerage etc are keeping pace. However,
the same cannot be said of the transport system.

Mobility

4. There are 10 million person trips originating within the CMR daily. The trip rate in CMC is
double that of other areas of the CMR. There are 7.8 million motorized trips made daily from within
the CMR. The average travel speed of motorized trips is 17 km/hr. A quarter of the trips made within
the CMR are by walking and other non motorized means including cycling.

5. Trips made within the CMC have an average trip length of around 4 km while trips made
from outside average 6 km. Travel speeds for trips within CMC as well as to and from outside is
around 12 km/hr indicating that travel speed within Colombo and on its main approaches are not
significantly different. Fort/Pettah shows the highest trip ends as destinations and origins within
Colombo, while zones such as Maradana/Maligawatta and Borella are also high. Zones to the south
of Colombo are comparatively less active.

6. Around 1.4 million person trips are made to and from the CMC to the rest of the CMR daily.
All the seven major transport corridors serving the city carry more than 100,000 persons per day,
with the Galle Corridor carrying nearly 250,000. This inner CMR encompassing a distance of between
15 -25 km from Colombo Fort along each corridor, includes areas up to Moratuwa, Horana, Kottawa,
Malabe, Kadawatha, and Ja ela. Of this only around 200,000 are to the outer CMR areas mainly along
the Kandy, Negombo and Galle corridors all of which carry 40,000 or more passengers beyond the
Inner CMR area. The balance 1.2 million trips are spread out in the Inner CMR area.

7. Bus provides the lowest motorized door to door journey speeds of between 7-8 km/hr
within Colombo and 13 km/hr in the CMR as a whole. The fact that all modes of motorized transport
including three wheelers are almost double this speed makes bus transport comparatively

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unattractive. The door to door journey speed of rail travel in the CMR is much more attractive at 19
km/hr. However this is for comparatively longer distances.

8. There are 95 million motorized passenger km carried by the different transport modes every
day. The bus carries 36 million passenger km or nearly 40% of the share which is unlikely to continue
with the current speed gap. On the other hand the railway carries 8 million passenger km making up
8% of the share with an average trip length of 30 km. With speed being attractive, the fact that less
than 10% of the supply is provided by the railway indicates there are other constraints that do not
make railway travel attractive.

9. The average trip length is 12 km, and it seems that other than the railway which is preferred
for longer trips, other transport modes do not indicate a distance based trend in choice of mode.
This explains the reason for the total passenger km by public transport falling to less than 25%. In
fact the contribution of paratransit (taxis, three wheelers, hired vans etc) equates it. Private modes
make up 50% while walking constitutes a further 10% of passenger km but 25% of trips. These are
important statistics that need to be considered in ensuring sustainability of transport supply.

Transport Supply

10. Transport supply in the CMR is provided by a fleet of private vehicles most of which are
motorcycles. They are also supplemented with a large fleet of three-wheeler taxis. Buses and
Railways provide public transport. Buses are further separated to private and State owned buses.

11. The operating vehicle population in the CMR was 1,336,564 in 2013 with a current record of
an average annual growth of 10%. The vehicle categories such as three-wheeler, motor cycle and car
show a significant growth having 13%, 9% and 8% growth rates per annum respectively. This means
that on average nearly 50,000 to 100,000 vehicles enter the fleet in the CMR annually.

12. Consequently, the vehicle ownership has almost doubled in the CMR during the last ten
years. The overall Vehicle Ownership Rate (VOR) was 115 per 1000 population in 2002 where as it
has increased to 228 vehicles by 2013. This is due to increasing incomes and deteriorating quality of
public transport. With average journey speeds dropping to 12 km/hr in CMC as well as the corridors
there is clear evidence that the current vehicle trips cannot be efficiently accommodated on the
current road network.

13. The CMR has a length of 1,777 km of roads which is around 15% of the national road
network of Sri Lanka and another 83 km of expressway. This expressway network once completed is
expected to ease the traffic congestion in the Colombo City as the traffic travelling from south to
north can by-pass the city. When compared to the road density in other countries, further
intensification of road development does not seem possible given the high population density in
CMR.

14. The road network in CMR mostly comprises roads which are of less than two lanes, while
only 5% of the road network in CMR has over 4-lanes roads. One option for capacity improvement is

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the widening of one-lane roads to two-lanes. Over 40% of the length of the road network in CMR has
Level of Service below C which indicates they have reached capacity. The LOS on roads deteriorates
further closer to city where over 70% of the road network is at capacity. The average speed in the
CMC and Inner CMR regions is around 20 – 30 km/hour. The speed drops to around 11 – 20 km/hr
close the Central Business District (CBD) within the city, where as the speed increases in the outer
CMR.

15. There are 8,200 buses operating on 421 bus routes in CMR. Nearly, one-third of the intra-
province buses operated in CMR either starts or ends on one of the three terminals located in Pettah
in the CMC. Around 87% of the bus fleet and 78% of the total operated kilometers of public bus in
the CMR is supplied by the private sector. Around 13,000 buses enter the CMC region daily through
the main corridors with Galle, Kandy and Malabe Corridor having the highest flows. Currently there
are 166 inter-provincial bus routes and 98 intra-provincial buses routes starting from Pettah. A total
of 8,245 passenger buses enter the Pettah and Fort area within the CBD via five major access roads.
The average load factor at the point of entry to the city is over 100% and does not provide a pleasant
travel experience to the passengers. This is particularly high on Kandy (171%), Low Level (171%) and
Horana (174%) and lowest on Galle Road (101%). This load factor reduces within the city.

16. The railway network in the CMR is 230 km and carries around 210,000 passengers across the
city boundary every day which translates to around 13% of all passenger movements on the
corridors. Its contribution to freight transport is much less at around 3%.The railway line between
Fort and Maradana has the highest passenger volume (136,438) followed by Maradana and Ragama
section having 120,876 passengers per day. Train frequency between Maradana and Fort is 228
trains per day followed by Maradana – Ragama section, with 150 trains carrying around 750
passengers per train. The section between Fort and Maradana is heavily congested and the regular
cause of train delays. The average speed on the main line is around 33 km/hr and the coastal line at
28 km/hr. The operational speed of the Kelani Valley line is around 25 km/ hr. Additionally regular
delays occur due to failures of signal system especially on rainy days, failures of the communication
system, poor track condition and lack of maintenance of the tracks. High loading level is another
issue on the main line and coastal line especially during the peak period. Furthermore, safety at
railway crossings levels is also a major issue. The railway service in terms of available rolling stock is
currently fully utilised during peak periods. During the off peak, the railway is not as attractive as
road transport not only because of the lower frequencies, but also due to other issues such as safety
and security for users.

17. In addition to main passenger terminals in the Fort/Pettah area, many other main cities in
the CMR have their own terminals. In some of the cities even though the facilities and conditions are
not up to the standards of major terminals in Fort/Pettah, they are integrated to facilitate inter-
modal transfers. In the case of Pettah there are three bus terminals and the Fort railway terminal.
However, integration is poor as they are located at distances of around 500 to 800 meters from each
other.

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Major Transport Issues

18. During the last few decades there has been a rapid increase in traffic congestion across the
CMR and in particular within Colombo city, its suburbs and along the major corridors. This has
caused severe concern regarding the liveability in the CMR as well as the economic impact that it will
have on the expected development of the CMR. The number of vehicles entering the city has
increased to nearly 300,000 per day, while the number of people entering has begun to stagnate
causing concern on the economic viability of the city.

19. There are several factors that have contributed to the growing traffic congestion. These are
(a) Rapid growth in vehicle ownership resulting from increasing incomes, (b) Inability to widen roads
or build new roads to keep up with the demand and (c) Public transport not being an attractive
option due to quality falling below expected standards.

20. Hydro Carbon (HC) emissions have more than tripled between 1990 and 2010, and are
expected to more than double the current levels by 2020. The WHO standards on air quality are now
exceeded at a few locations from time to time. Emissions from transport represented 22% of global
CO2 emissions in 2010 and almost 75% of the emissions from transport is from the road sector. Road
traffic accidents are considered excessive and needs to be urgently arrested.

21. The public expenditure on transport has been increasing steadily since 2005. The
expenditure on highways sub sector currently stands at around 4 times all other transport sub
sectors including railways, buses and motor traffic. The investment is highway biased and not
aligned to development of a sustainable urban transport network.

22. There is no effective Land Use strategy to guide development and mobility. Past land use
development has been alongside major roads and has led to reduced mobility along these major
corridors. The continuity of these land development trends will further restrict mobility within the
CMR. Urban sprawl forced by increasing cost of land close to Colombo has led to agricultural land
being portioned for housing. The deterioration of bus transport has led to such new development
areas being unserved and fully dependent on private transport.

23. The overall cost of providing mobility within the CMR measured in terms of vehicle
operating costs, travel time costs, accident and emission costs is estimated at Rs 349 billion per year-
or a billion rupees per day. This constitutes around 10% of the GDP of the province indicating a high
transport cost for the movement of people and goods making all value additions within the CMR
globally uncompetitive. It also adds to the cost of living impacting the living standards of the people.

24. 749 fatal accidents have been reported in the CMR in 2012 which is 32% of all fatal accidents
in the country. Additionally, another 2,708 grievous accidents in the CMR make up over 1/3 rd of all
grievous accidents in Sri Lanka. Around 40% of theses fatalities and 24% of grievous casualties in
CMR occur on the seven main road corridors. Furthermore, around 44% of the fatalities are

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pedestrians while another 40% are drivers/riders. This indicates the high pedestrian activities in the
CMR and lack of facilities for pedestrians.

Development Challenges

25. The population of the CMR has the potential to increase from 5.8 million to 7.9 million by
the year 2035. The CMR has an employment of 2.1 million which can increase to 2.9 million by 2035.
This population increase is however to be surpassed by rapid motorization led by income led growth
of motor vehicle ownership and further pushed by deteriorating quality of public transport services.

26. The current modal share of public transport users in the CMR is 39% in terms of trips and
49% in terms of km travelled. This is likely to reduce further due to increasing vehicle ownership and
lack of qualitative development in existing bus and rail services. The Do- Nothing scenario estimates
the share to rapidly drop to 24% of trips and 29% of passenger km by 2020.

27. However the current transport system capacity will not be able to provide both the quantity
and quality of transport needed by the increasing and more affluent population. This will result in
increasing congestion and deteriorating livability in the city. It will also lead to increasing transport
cost that would reduce economic potential of the city and the consequent migration to the CMR and
population increase.

28. Improvement in transport should continue to provide for equitable development by

ensuring transport costs are kept affordable for all economic groups. It should also reduce emissions
and accidents in addition to enhancing the economic product of the CMR by reducing the overall
transport system cost.

29. There are seven corridors that require high mobility mass transit systems that can carry
more than 10,000 passengers per hour. Moreover the inner CMR comprising an area up to 20 km
from Colombo Fort in each direction has a high density of trips which require a high quality bus
system with good feeder systems.

30. Travel options within the CMC needs to be widened with the introduction of an elevated
railway system such as monorail that can serve high traffic generators and also have frequent stops.

31. Walking and cycling facilities should be improved to retain the 25% short distance trips that
are even at present made this way. Safety should be improved especially for these users who being
the most vulnerable road user group constitute 44% of all fatalities.

Recommendations (Policy Level)

32. There should be a strategy to manage the demand for road space. There should be a
paradigm shift in government policy from high vehicle taxation approach which has not succeeded in
curbing increase in motorization to more modern approaches of controlling demand for use of road
use through electronic road pricing. This allows vehicle ownership but intervenes in managing road

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space during times of congestion using road user charging as a tool to reduce demand in keeping
with the available supply. However for this, high quality public transport is a pre-requisite.

33. A public transport intensive development approach is essential for overcoming the mobility
issues in the CMR till 2025. A mixed development approach could be initiated after that up to 2035.
Projects and programs should be developed to achieve 2035 as CoMTrans and uses the STRADA
Transport Model to make passenger demand forecasts for future scenarios.

34. There should be an strategy to transform the urban structure in the CMR from being mono-
centric to a hybrid poly centric when in while Colombo and Battaramulla develops further other
transit oriented urban centres are developed at Kaduwela/Kotelawala, Moratuwa/Panadura,
Kesbewa/Kahathuduwa, Kottawa/Makumbura, Kadawatha and Ragama to take advantage of the
new transport advantages that have opened up with interchanges of the Outer Circular Road.
Modern multimodal transport terminals should be developed at each of these urban centres.

35. A systematic policy should be followed in ensuring transport impacts on the environment
including unnecessary use of limited land areas, air quality, and visual pollution is controlled through
required regulations for the development regulations, vehicle regulation and environmental
regulations.

Recommendations (Legal and Institutional)

36. A specific and explicit urban transport policy is required as the cornerstone of implementing
the CMR Transport Masterplan. This policy should have firm legal status in order for the different
governments and agencies working in transport and associated to integrate their work according to
a plan.

37. The specific legal and institutional recommendations are:

a) A new Act to setup a Metropolitan Transport Development Authority.
b) The Colombo Metropolitan Regional Transport Masterplan to be gazetted.
c) Setup a Colombo Metro Urban Transport Development Cell (CoMTraD Cell) within UDA
d) Reconstitute the Inter-Ministerial Committee for the Coordinated Policy and Planning of
Transport (IMCCPPT)
e) A single Ministry for Transport & Highways
f) Capacity Building of all Transport Sector Institutions

Recommendations (Projects and Programs)

38. Projects that would improve mobility on each corridor have been assessed separately using
STRADA analysis and ranked in order as being the most viable for each corridor. The two highest
ranked projects (rank 1 and 2) have been shortlisted for each corridor. A rail based mode and a road
based mode are considered the best options given the preference for buses to serve shorter trips
and railway longer trips.

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 Bus Road
Railway BRT Monorail
Priority Widening
Galle Rd 2 1
Horana Rd 2 1 3
HL Road 2 1
Malabe Rd 2 1 3
LL Road 2 1
Kandy Rd 2 1 3
Negombo Rd 1

39. Therefore under the intensive public transport policy there would be:
a) The immediate and priority reformation of the current bus operations.
b) Development of BRT services on a priority basis on the routes recommended
c) All road widening and new urban roads currently in progress to include BRT or Bus Priority
projects
d) Modernization of the railways on the routes.
e) The above improvements will be accompanied by traffic restraint measures such as limiting
parking, electronic road pricing in CMC are.
f) Development of Monorail on corridors where railway cannot be modernised.

40. The UoM Study recommends the following implementation program for the respective
planning horizons of 2020, 2025 and 2035.

Short Term (2020)

41. Bus Network Development : Since BRT and bus priority are found to be most suitable
corridor development for several corridors and bus network development had the highest rate of
return, bus network development is recommended as the most economically viable first step of
development under the master plan. This includes improving all bus services within the CMR to
provide a minimum door to door journey speed of 15 km/hr travel, plus the development of 5 bus
priority routes and 2 BRT services. It also includes a further 4 BRT/Bus with Higher Level of Service
(BHLS) services using the OCH and CKE. The cost of this is estimated at Rs 301 billion. This includes
the cost of re-fleeting, compensation and modernising all existing bus operations as well as the road
development costs for the proposed BRT and Bus priority routes. This should also accompanied by
the following sector development programs:
 Restructuring of bus regulatory and operating system
 Development of multi modal centres at each of the TOD centres namely in Pettah,
Panadura/Moratuwa, Kottawa/Makumbura, Kesbewa/Kahatuduwa, Kaduwela/Kotelawala,
Kadawatha and Ragama.

42. Rail Network Development: The 2020 multi modal transport network also confirms that a
modernised urban railway provides the second best rate of return on investment. As a result three

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lines together with all stations, access and ticketing are selected for modernisation together with
improvement to the Fort-Maradana section. The total cost for this network development is
estimated at Rs 197 billion.

43. Monorail Development: This is recommended if bus and rail based improvements cannot be
implemented on any of the corridors. The monorail therefore will not be the first, but the alternate
choice and is therefore a conditional recommendation. It is however found to be a most suitable
mode of transport for servicing the area within the CMC particular connecting the areas of Borella,
Town Hall, Slave Island, Fort, Pettah and Kotahena. This is expected to cost Rs 70 billiion.

44. Road Development: Five road projects required for accommodating BRT and Bus Priority
development are recommended and tested in this scenario. The cost of this has been included in the
bus network development. No other urban road projects are recommended in the short term. The
cost of these developments is estimated at Rs 121 billion.

45. Traffic Demand Management (TDM) and ERP: The TDM within the CMC area which should
be followed up with ERP is recommended in order to reduce congestion within CMC and its
corridors. The cost of this is Rs 20 billion making the total Short Term Investment Rs 779 billion.

Medium Term (2025)

46. BRT on Ring Roads: Two ring roads namely the Middle Ring Road (MRR) and the External
Ring Road (ERR) are recommended for Bus Priority operations by 2025. The Kadawatha to Moratuwa
BRT would also be in part re-routed through Baseline. In addition the Northern (now Central)
Expressway would also accommodate a BRT lane which should be extended to the Pettah Multi
modal hub. These would increase travel in the orbital direction further reducing the pressure on the
city centre and also encouraging the development of the ToD centres. The costs of Rs 18 billion
which is mostly made of the cost of new roads namely widening the roads to facilitate the MRR and
ERR bus priority operations. It also includes the new Baseline Extension, the Northern Highway up to
Nittambuwa, the Elevated link to the Port which can be used as a BRT and for the port access and
the Port to Fort link.

47. Development of Railway KV Line: The KV line which needs engineering improvements and
double tracking is recommended as a medium term project. Besides this new lines between (i)
Dematagoda and Battaramulla and (Ii) Kelaniya and Dompe have been proposed. The total cost is
estimated at Rs 142 billion.

48. Monorail Extension: Since the trip rate in the northern part of the CMC is significantly less
than elsewhere in the city there is evidence that mobility should be improved. However the high
population density does not allow road widening or new railway other than elevated rail. In this
context the extension of the monorail from Kotahena to Mattakkuliya and to Kelaniya to open a new
access to north Colombo is proposed. The cost is estimated at Rs 49 billion.

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49. Road Improvements: The following road projects required for bus priority and BRT projects
recommended herein is proposed.
 Middle Ring Road Widening
 Inner Ring Road widening
 Baseline Road extension and
 Elevated 2 lane highway from Orugodawatte to Port and extension from Port to Pettah
MmTH

The cost these developments would be Rs 92 billion.

50. ERP in CMC: This includes implementation of an ERP system at the boundary of the CMC and
at a further cordon around the core business areas including Fort, Pettah, Maradana, Slave Island,
Town Hall and Galle Face. The cost of this is estimated at Rs 109 billion. This also includes road
widening for traffic management and intersection improvements etc on the major corridors and
other critical locations on the road network in the Inner CMR.

Long Term (2035)

51. Bus Network Development: In this scenario the MRR and IRR are expected to be developed
as fully fledged BRTs with widening of roads to 6 lanes. In addition a BRT is proposed on the Horana
Expressway (see below). The cost of Rs 24 billion is for bus improvements.

52. Road Development: Urban expressways may be considered given that the urban travel
speeds would have improved by 2025 through public transport measures. The urban expressways
with the required level of ERP would then be able to reduce the overall transport costs further. Thus
an expressway from Orugodawatte via Battaramulla to Kahatuduwa I/C is proposed at a cost of Rs
176 billion.

53. The full development program is shown below:

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Key Performance Indicators

54. The proposed transport network development would comprise a total of 993 km, shared as
follows:

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 2015 to 2020 to 2025 to Total Rs
Sector
2020 2025 2035 bn
BRT 35.0 35.0
Bus Priority/BHLS 234.0 54.0 72.0 360.0
Rail 90.0 60.0 64.0 214.0
Monorail 10.0 7.0 17.0
Urban Roads 269.0 54.0 44.0 367.0
TOTAL 638.0 175.0 180.0 993.0
55. Under the proposed development plan, the current rapidly deteriorating public transport
modal share which is currently 49% is expected to increase to 55% by 2020, 65% by 2025 and 67% by
2035 with the proposed development of bus and railway and the introduction of bus priority and
monorail. This is considered a minimum modal share for the CMR to achieve a sustainable transport
system. It can also be seen that the BRT/Bus Priority/BHLS share will reach 12% in 2035 with
monorail carrying 1% of the passenger km. Private vehicles, three wheelers and truck modal share is
likely to reduce from 52% as at present to 33%.

56. TDM/ERP measures which require a total investment of Rs 227 billion inclusive of highway
modifications for improved traffic management provide the best return for investment over the 20
year period with a NPV of Rs 1,835 billion at 60% IRR. Bus sector network development proposed
provides the next best return on it Rs 287 billion investment with a NPV of Rs 4,533 at 45% IRR. The
primary reason for this is that current travel distances are short favouring road based transport. The
best results are when these two features of the transport system are developed together. The
railway is a complementary investment to attract the relatively longer distance passengers. However
it should be noted that railway investment alone will not provide the desired results. The Rs 369
billion investment provides a NPV of Rs 4,070 billion at 33% IRR. Monorail is viable only where other
modes cannot be implemented, such as within the city. The Rs 118 billion investment proposed
provides a NPV of Rs 87 billion at an IRR of 12%. Road projects should be only carried out where BRT
or bus priority measures can be implemented. When carried out in isolation of public transport,
there will be negative economic impacts where it is observed that the proposed road sector
investment valued at Rs 260 billion will provide an IRR of only 5%, which will be below the discount
rate of 6% p.a.

Financing Implications

57. The summary of investment cost identified by each sub-sector that would be responsible for
the project and each planning horizon is shown below. The total requirement is Rs 1,624 billion
spread across all modes of transport with system improvement for buses and Bus Priority and BRT
getting 21%, railway 31%, monorail 7% and roads 24%. This investment breakdown reflects (a) that
this investment is a public transport intensive development and (b) that it will support the
development of multi modal transport network in the CMR.

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Investment Cost (Rs billion)

Public Potential
2015 to 2020 to 2025 to Total Rs % by % Private Potential Sources
Sector Investment Source Private
2020 2025 2035 bn Sector Investment Public Investment
Rs bn Investment

Bus 300.7 18.1 24.2 343.1 21% 80% 68.6 Multi lateral IFC/Local/PPP
Rail 197.4 142.2 158.0 497.6 31% 20% 398.0 Multi lateral, Bilateral FDI/PPP
Monorail 69.6 48.7 0.0 118.3 7% 60% 47.3 JICA FDI/PPP
Urban Roads 120.5 91.5 176.1 388.1 24% 60% 155.2 Multi lateral IFC/PPP
TDM/ERP 19.8 109.2 0.0 129.0 8% 50% 64.5 Multi lateral, Bilateral FDI/PPP
Sector Dev 70.8 41.0 35.8 147.6 9% 0% 147.6 Multi lateral, Bilateral -
TOTAL 778.8 450.7 394.1 1,623.6 881.3

58. It is recommended that of the above the entire cost of bus improvement expenditure be
financed by government. In the case of railway and also monorail most of this would also have to be
from state sector. In the case of roads, a portion of investments could be obtained from private
sector since toll collection is estimated as being likely to be higher than operating and maintenance
costs and operating surpluses are likely. The estimated total public sector investment is Rs 881
billion or around Rs 44 billion per year for the 20 year period.

59. This includes a standing allocation of 10% of the capital funding provided for overall sector
development which includes development of multi modal and inter-modal features that include
safety, integration, databases, planning , operational subsidies, feasibilities, environmental
mitigatory actions, institutional capacity building in planning, modernisation etc as these functions
usually do not get adequate funding. This should be allocated through the IMCCPPT with the funds
being channelled thought the NTC which could also provide the legal basis for the IMCCPPT. This
amount can also be used for operational cross subsidise such as school services, feeder services to
low density areas, late night services etc. Alternately 1% of the total transport fuel cost of the CMR
could be made available for this purpose. Public transport revenues could also be included to make
it comprehensive. This amount for the period from 2015 to 2020 would be equal to around Rs 70
billion or Rs 14 billion per year.

60. It is calculated that all bus operations including the BRT as well as bus priority could be
priced close to cost recovery. This can be achieved since even at present private sector recovers
costs in a highly inefficient industry platform. If the capital investment is provided by Government
which will improve efficiency and the current density of demand can be maintained, then bus service
can be commercially profitable. Hence no financial commitment for operation & maintenance
(O&M) is required.

61. The vehicle operating cost of private transport would constitute over 80% of the total
operational cost of the entire transport system. As shown above, the total economic cost of mobility
for the different transport networks in the CMR is expected to increase from Rs 347 billion in 2015 to
Rs 792 billion in 2035. The Do Nothing Scenario was estimated to reach Rs 1,000 billion by 2020.

62. The total revenue from public transport operations for each of the planning horizons based
on the current rates of Rs 2 per km for bus and railway based on a 10 km trip length and Rs 3 per km

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for monorail operations. BRT is also priced at the same fare as regular buses. The gap between this
revenue collected by the modes of public transport and the operating costs of all modes of public
transport is estimated at Rs 11.1 billion in 2020 and increasing to Rs 16.3 and 21.5 billion by the year
2025 and 2035 respectively.

63. A tax of approximately 5.6% of the private vehicle transport cost would be adequate to cross
subsidise the entire public transport operation. There are several methods of bridging this shortfall
which includes:
 Raising public transport fares to reach the breakeven for each mode. In this case, bus fares
have to be raised by approximately 38%, train fares by 65% and monorail fares priced 94%
above current average fare of Rs 1.70 per km in real terms.
 An alternate method is to raise this through a tax on use of private vehicles. This would
require a road user tax of Rs 1.06 on average per vehicle km travelled within the CMR. ERP
could also be used to recover this in certain areas. It could also be recovered through
revenue licenses and fuel taxes as is done currently.
 A combined method of raising funds partly from private user costs and partly through a
direct public transport subsidy representing the benefit to the commerce in the CMR levied
through land taxes or turnover.

64. The final development map pertaining to 2035 is given below:

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xvii | P a g e
PART A: BACKGROUND

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2|Page
A BACKGROUND

A.1 INTRODUCTION

A.1.1 Introduction to Western Province/Colombo Metropolitan Region

The Western Province (WP) also identified as the Colombo

Metropolitan Region (CMR), is on the western seaboard of Sri
Lanka, and is bordered by the Southern, North Western and
Sabaragamuwa provinces. It has three administrative districts,
i.e. Colombo, Gampaha and Kalutara and 33 divisional
secretariat divisions. Colombo district is considered to be the
most urbanized where 54.6% of Sri Lanka’s urban population
resides, while Gampaha and Kalutara account for 14.6% and
10.6% of urban population with high percentages of rural
populations. Colombo city is considered to be the centre of the
economy and hence the busiest city in Sri Lanka. Government
offices, private offices, factories, hospitals, hotels, schools and
the harbor located within the Colombo city generates higher travel demand towards the city core.

The Western Province extends over 3,684 sq. km (5.62% of the land surface of Sri Lanka) with a
population of 5,822,914 (29% of the country)1 leading to the highest population density of 1,581
persons/sq. km among Sri Lanka's nine provinces. Provincial ethnic composition is made up of 84.2%
Sinhalese, 7.2% Tamils, 7.0% Moor and others. Its religious profile makes it predominantly 73.3%
Buddhist, 5.1% Hindu with 8.2% Islam and others.

The Western Province is considered to be the most developed province in the country. Comparisons
of provincial and national level basic socio economic parameters in respect of the lowest poverty
head count index, highest per capita incomes and lower unemployment rate should be noted as
being among the relevant indicators. Furthermore, 6 out of the 15 public universities in the country
are located in the Western Province, further increasing the economic and social activities in the
province.

Western provincial share of the national GDP is around 43.4% and has recorded the highest per
capita income of Rs. 372,814 (approx. USD 2,922) in 2012. But the rate of unemployment and hence
the unemployed population is still higher when compared to other provinces. This indicates that
though Western Province has reached a certain level of economic development, it is still to be
developed in both economic and social aspects.

1 Source: Population by Sex and Age by District, DS Division and Grama Niladhari Divisions 2012 (Provisional), Department of Census
and Statistics

3|Page
A.1.2 Transport in the CMR

Figure A-1 shows the major transport infrastructure and multi-modal transport map within the CMR.
However, during the last few decades there has been a rapid increase in traffic congestion in the
CMR due to several reasons. This has caused severe concern regarding the liveability in Colombo and
its suburbs as well as the economic impact that it will have on the future of the CMR.

Figure A-1 : Transport Map in CMR

4|Page
A.1.3 Colombo

Colombo city is the centre of economic activity in Sri Lanka. Major government offices, private
companies, factories, hospitals, schools and port are located within the city limits. These land uses
induce higher demand for transport and attracts more passengers into the city. Additionally,
Colombo city serves as a major transfer point for many passengers travelling to other provinces not
only because the transport network has a strong radial orientation connecting all nine provinces and
Colombo district, but also as it serves as the main transfer point since the main bus and rail transfer
terminals are located in the core of the city. This is clearly illustrated in Figure A-1 how the main road
and railway networks in the CMR hub in the city and are radially oriented to cover the entire
country. Furthermore, it can be seen that the main urban centres in the Western Province have
developed in close proximity to the road-rail corridors. Due to these facts Colombo City has
experienced a steady traffic growth during the last few decades.

A.1.4 CoMTrans Study

On the request of Ministry of Transport, JICA agreed to study and provide technical assistance to
conduct the ‘Master Plan for Colombo Metropolitan Urban Transport’. This task was assigned to
CoMTrans. The project initiated in 2012 and was completed in 2014. Its objectives were;

 To prepare reliable transport database that can be utilised to evaluate and formulate
transport development plans/projects in a scientific manner by conducting an area-wide
transport survey.
 To formulate a comprehensive Urban Transport Master Plan for the Colombo Metropolitan
Area including the six transport corridors prioritised by the Ministry of Transport with
justification of selected priority/leading projects for short-term, mid-term, and long-term
implementation.
 To conduct feasibility study on the prioritised project under the comprehensive urban
transport master plan.

The master plan included transport system development plans for immediate (2015), short-term
(2020), intermediate-term (2025) and long-term (2035) implementations. The JICA/CoMTrans study
team submitted a comprehensive Master Plan Document to Ministry of Transport in August 2014
consisting of a main report and six technical reports. However, the Ministry of Transport was of the
view that the Master Plan should be in a condition where it is readable by the officers and public.
Furthermore, the Ministry was in need of recommendations on project implementation and to verify
the data that had been collected by the CoMTrans Study. As a result, the Ministry of Transport
requested University of Moratuwa to review the data and the CoMTrans Master Plan submitted by
Oriental Consultants Ltd and to prepare a master plan that is suitable for local conditions and usage.

5|Page
A.1.5 Scope and Objective of this Report

The objective of this study is to prepare a transport master plan covering the next 20 years up to
2035 which includes evaluating and improving the Master Plan proposed by the CoMTrans Study to
cater to the need of the transport issues in Colombo Metropolitan Region. To achieve this objective,
the University of Moratuwa conducted a comprehensive review of the CoMTrans Study and
conducted further analysis of the data collected by the Study. This study further develops a master
plan which is easily understood by policy makers and other relevant stakeholders. It also developed
a public document and a video to increase the awareness of the transport master plan among the
general public who are the ultimate users of the infrastructure and services. It also developed a
database from the data made available by the JICA Study Team. Moreover, the University of
Moratuwa conducted several training programs to develop the capacity of the officers at the
Ministry of Transport during the study period. Furthermore, the study includes a three day workshop
to increase the ownership and participation of the master-plan among the relevant stakeholders.

A.1.6 Terms of Reference

The principal activities included in the preparation work include:

 Coding, tabulating and storing all the data collected by JICA Study Team.
 To collect and update the data-base with any missing data as may be required by the MOT
from time to time.
 Presenting the Master Plan or any other analysis as required by the MOT from time to
time.
 Developing a suitable video segment that would provide insight and understanding to the
public of critical transport sector issues and their solutions.
 Assisting the Core Team of the Ministry of Transport on regular basis to:
o Prepare a document in three languages explaining key transport issues in CMR for
public consumption.
o Prepare a master plan implementation strategy after discussions with the Ministry
of Transport and stakeholder agencies.
o Design training modules in new urban transport technologies as may be required
for the Ministry of Transport and stakeholder staff utilizing international experts.
o Prepare final master plan document.

A.1.7 Structure of the Report

The report is structures into three parts,

 Part A – Background to the Study;

 Part B- Revised UoM Transport Masterplan and
 Part C the Review of the CoMTrans Masterplan.

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Part A is composed of the following chapters:

 Introduction to the Study (Chapter A1)

 Introduction to Transport in Study Area (Chapter A2)
 Review of Previous Urban Studies for Study Area (Chapter A3)

The Revised Transport Masterplan (Part B) was developed through a series of transport planning
processes as illustrated in Figure A-2.

The above revised masterplan is based on a review of the CoMTrans Masterplan discussed in detail
in Part C and includes;

 Assessment of economic, social, environmental conditions of the CMR (Chapter C1)

 Review of the current status of transport demand with special attention to the study of the
major corridors (Chapter C2)
 Review of the existing transport infrastructure and supply of transport services (Chapter C3)
 Review of the CoMTrans Master plan process (Chapter C4)
 Comparison of CoMTrans and UoM study methodology (Chapter C5)

Figure A-2 : Master Plan Process

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A.1.8 Master Plan Methodology

The UoM revised transport master-plan is prepared for three time horizons: short term (2020);
medium term (2025); and long term (2035). The overall methodology constitutes the following
process:

1. Introduction to Previous Transport Studies and Master plans

o This section provides a summary of the previous Transport Studies in Colombo and a
review of the same. It also establishes the study area and provides a description of
Land areas and different land uses. It also provides a summary of urban transport
planning strategies and models used by other countries which have similar
characteristics such as in Sri Lanka.
2. Review of Current Status of Transport and Demand in CMR
o This section analyses the current demand in CMR by region, corridor and by mode. It
provides summary statistics of Key Performance Indicators such as passenger km,
cost, passenger hours, average speed, average cost per km.
3. Review of Current transport supply in CMR
o This section gives a brief but complete summary of the current infrastructure and
services available, growth and development of corridors and growth of fleet of
vehicles of each mode.
o Current Issues (KPIs): Establish KPIs for the transport system by region, corridor and
mode, travel time, congestion, choice, integration, safety, environment, cost and
equity
4. Revisiting Development Options
o Plans and potential for future socioeconomic and land use development, identify
transport sector objectives for development and options for transport sector
development
 Three Options (Do Nothing- Default Motorization),
 Restraining Motorization without TOD,
 Restraining Motorization with TOD with KPIs
o Selection of most appropriate strategy using MCA and other suitable methods (using
the STRADA model)
5. Revised Transport Masterplan
o Establish transport sector development objectives and provides description of
development objectives of selected strategy
o Establish goals for development by setting goals in terms of KPIs by region and sub
region, by corridor and by mode
o Identify networks and intermodal facilities for development
o Evaluation of Projects and Programs
6. Implementation of Revised Transport Masterplan
o Strategy (Sequencing of projects )
o Assessments of projects (Assessment of economic viability using STRADA)

8|Page
 o Institutions (Assessing institutional capacity and recommendations for reform)
o Financing (Assessing financial requirements including economic and user payback
potential and State responsibility)

A.1.9 Study Team

The study team consisted of

 Prof. Amal S. Kumarage – Team Leader, Transport Engineer & Planner

 Dr. Pradeepa Jayaratne- Transportation Planner
 Ms. Ishika Wijeratne - Transport Systems Analyst & Planner
 Mr. Anushke Guneratne – Database Developer
 Ms. Thivya Amalan – Transport Systems Analyst
 Mr Brendan Finn – International Transport Consultant (for external review of report)

A.1.10 Acknowledgements

The UoM Study team acknowledge the following inputs

 JICA, for providing technical assistance for CoMTrans Study

 Oriental Consultants, the consultants for the CoMTrans study which provided the base for
the review
 Mr Dhammika Perera, Secretary o f the Ministry of Transport up until January 2015,
succeeded by Dr TL Gunaruwan, Secretary, Ministry of Internal Transport, for providing
valuable direction.
 Mr JM Thilakarathna Banda, Additional Secretary (Planning), Ministry of Internal Transport
 Ms Anupama Fernando, Assistant Director, Ministry of Internal Transport for administrative
support
 Director (Planning) and officers of the Planning Division
 Staff of the Department of Transport & Logistics Management, University of Moratuwa.

9|Page
A.2 INTRODUCTION TRANSPORT IN STUDY AREA

A.2.1 Passenger and Traffic Flows to Colombo

In recent times, some of the economic and administrative functions have moved to the outskirt
areas of Colombo city such as Battaramulla, Nugegoda, Maharagama, Panadura and Kiribathgoda
attracting a certain amount of passenger trips and as a result the annual growth rates for passengers
to the CMC has reduced considerably as shown in Table A-1. Interestingly, even though the daily
passenger flow rate in CMC has declined, the number of vehicles entering the city has increased
remarkably (Table A-2) especially for private vehicles which indicate that more and more people
enter the city using private vehicles such as motor cycles and cars.

Table A-1: Daily Passenger Flows at the CMC Boundary – Both Directions (1965-2013)
Corridor Number of Passengers (000s) CAGR (%)
1965 1985 1995 2005 2013 (65-85) (85-95) (95-05) (05-13)
Galle Road 91 279 331 365 298 5.8 1.7 1.0 (2.5)
Negombo and Kandy 118 400 607 553 683 6.3 4.3 (0.9) 2.7
Roads
Ratnapura Road 62 141 206 196 174 4.2 3.9 (0.5) (1.5)
Cotta Rd and SJ Road 45 89 249 278 348 3.5 10.8 1.1 2.8
Horana Road 21 58 126 111 130 5.2 8.1 (1.3) 2.0
Wellampitiya Road 38 56 59 57 113 2.0 0.5 (0.3) 8.9
Narahenpita Road 12 40 35 46 66 6.2 (1.3) 2.8 4.6
Ambatale Road n/a 32 63 58 37 n/a 7.0 (0.8) (5.5)
Total 387 1,095 1,676 1,664 1,849 5.3 4.3 (0.1) 1.3

A.2.2 Public Transport

Public transport usage has been shifting from bus and rail to private modes (Table A-2). This shift has
been identified as a major issue in the transport sector not only in Colombo but across the country.
The deteriorating quality in bus and rail has been partially responsible for this loss of ridership. Even
though buses in operation have increased, service quality has deteriorated due to unhealthy
competition between operators. This is compounded by lack of proper bus scheduling and the poor
conditions of buses, bus stops and terminals. Ineffective regulation has led to the poor enforcement
of rules and regulations that operators are expected to follow. The same is true for railway service
which is losing the overall market share due to the loss of quality, increasing load factors and
inability to provide a reliable service due to lack of rolling stock and facilities.

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 Table A-2 : Traffic Growth at the CMC Boundary (1985 – 2012) (Bi-directional)
Vehicle Type ADT AAGR (%)
1985 1995 2005 2012 85-95 95-05 05-12
Private Vehicles 130,000 203,215 321,249 443,586 4.6 4.7 4.7
Buses 31,950 27,084 22,835 29,064 -1.6 -1.7 3.5
Goods Vehicle 16,850 24,158 30,296 36,598 3.7 2.3 2.7
Total 178,800 254,457 374,380 509,249 3.6 3.9 4.5

Passengers lack modern public transport choices resulting in urban transport moving to less efficient
modes such as private vehicles. Increased vehicular traffic has contributed to reducing the speed due
to lack of capacity and poor utilisation of existing infrastructure. The average vehicle speed on the
main roads within CMR has fallen to about 20-25 km per hour, with speeds within the CMC area
falling below 15 km per hour. This has resulted in more road accidents and air quality pollution as
well.

A.2.3 Factors for Congestion

Factors which contribute to growing congestion are:

 Growth of population mainly due to internal migration
 High growth in vehicle ownership resulting from increasing incomes
 Deterioration of public transport or at most no improvement to match living standards
desired
 Inability to widen roads or build new roads in keeping with the demand.

In order to mitigate this transport problem, it is essential to either improve high occupancy services
such as public transport or improve road capacity to cater to the high demand or both. These issues
have created a need for a properly evaluated master plan to solve the urban transport problem in
the CMR, particularly in Colombo. Identifying this requirement the Ministry of Transport carried out
a master plan study for the CMR with assistance provided by JICA.

A.2.4 Primary Characteristics of the Transport Network

The CMR has several transport modes. These include the railway and road network, the bus network
as well as an international port and airport.

A.2.4.1 Railway Network

Colombo city is a colonial product and the primary urban city in Sri Lanka since the 1800’s. This is
mainly due to the economic activities around the Port of Colombo. To increase the efficiency of
transporting goods to Colombo from the plantation areas, the British initiated the development of a
railway network in 1864. The line was expanded to Kandy (1867), Matale (1880), and Badulla (1924),
with the expansion of tea plantation to those areas. Meanwhile, with the increasing export of other

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agricultural products such as coconut and rubber (which were mostly grown in low country), the
coastal railway line and the northern line was expanded from Colombo to south and north.

A.2.4.1.1 Capacity

Currently ten railway lines are operated by the Department of Sri Lankan Railways as shown in Table
A-3 which consists of around 1,400 km of track. As shown in Figure A-3 almost 90% of the railway
network of the country is single track, with 126 km of double tracks, 14 km of three tracks and 3 km
of four tracks with all multiple lines located within the CMR as illustrated in Figure A-3.

Table A-3 : Railway Lines in Sri Lanka

Name Origin Destination Distance No. of No. of
(Km) Station Trains
1. Main Line Fort Badulla 292 78 124
2. Matale Line Peradeniya Matale 34 10 14
3. Puttalam Line Ragama Periynagavilu 120 44 50
4. Coastal Line Fort Matara 157 69 n/a
5. Batticaloa Line Maho Batticaloa 211 31 23
2 3
6. Northern Line Polgahawela KKS 339 55 32
4
7. Talaimannar Line Medawachchiya Talaimannar 106 11 0
8. Trinco Line Gal Oya Trincomalee 70 7 8
9. KV Line Maradana Avissawella 59 23
10. Mihintale Line 14 2
Source: Department of Sri Lanka Railways, CoMTrans (2014)

CMR is served from Main Line, Coastal Line, Puttlam Line and Kelani Valley Line. The Main Line from
Fort to Ragama has three tracks (14 km) while the balance of the main line is double tracks (71 km).
The coastal line from Fort to Kalutara South (43 km) consists with a double track, while the rest of
the Coastal line is single track. Part of the Puttlam line from Ragama to Ja-Ela (12 km) was recently
upgraded to double track while the rest has a single track. The KV line is completely a single track.

2 Only up to Vavuniya, but trains operating to Jaffna since Nov 2014

3 Only up to Kilinochchi, but trains operating to Jaffna since Nov 2014
4 Currently under reconstruction

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 Figure A-3 : Railway Network in Sri Lanka and CMR

A.2.4.1.2 Speed

The speed of railway operations in some sections is comparatively low. For example the average
speed on the coastal line varies from 18 km/hr. to 35 km/hr. It is observed that the speeds are lower
closer to the city. Lack of infrastructure and rolling stock as well as signaling and communications
systems have been identified as main bottlenecks for the poor operational performance of the
system.

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A.2.4.1.3 Management and Service

The Railway is managed as a government department. It has a comparatively large staff and does
not have modern service attributes or a high quality of service. It does not have a commercial
orientation and caters mostly to passenger transport. In the CMR a significant proportion of
travelers are public servants making use of discounted tickets.

A.2.4.2 Road Network

The construction of most sections of the present day road network is dated to the period
immediately following the subjugation by the British of the entire country and the subsequent
Kandyan Convention in 1815. Initially, roads were constructed mostly for political and military
consideration. However, with the promotion of coffee cultivation after 1830, road building was
considered a priority for reasons of economy and trade. Most of these roads were built in areas of
economic advantage. The Central, Sabaragamuwa and Uva provinces were the beneficiaries, albeit
at the expense and neglect of the areas of indigenous agriculture.

The road network in Sri Lanka is made up of several types of roads classified according to their
functionality and management. This classification is based on the different tiers of government in Sri
Lanka i.e., national, provincial and local. The local governments are further identified as urban and
rural local authorities. While the National Roads are managed by the Central Government through
the Road Development Authority, the provincial road network is managed by the respective
Provincial Councils (PC).

Currently, the Sri Lankan road network consist of expressways, national roads such as A and B class
roads (managed by RDA), C and D Class roads managed by Provincial Councils and other access roads
managed by various other local authorise such as Pradeshiya Saba (Local Councils), Department of
Wild Life etc. Figure A-4 illustrates the existing national road network in Sri Lanka and CMR.

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 Figure A-4 : National and CMR Road Network

The national road network has expanded gradually to increase accessibility in both urban and rural
areas. However, the new additions to the national road network have been comparatively less
significant compared to other roads such as provincial and rural roads where the majority of the
upgrades have been for provincial roads and rural roads.

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Additionally, a total of 161 km of expressways has been added to the current Sri Lankan road
network. This includes Southern Expressway (SE) from Kottawa to Godagama (126 km) and Colombo
Katunayake expressway (CKE) from Peliyagoda to Katunayake (24.6 km). Additionally Outer Circular
Highway (OCH) which connects the CKE and SE is also under construction. The first section of the
OCH from Kottawa to Kaduwela (9.9 km) has already opened for the public while the 2 nd and 3rd
sections are scheduled to open in 2015 and 2016 respectively. The SE has a 120 km/hr design speed,
and currently has four lanes in operation with provision to expand it to a six lanes. With regard to
the CKE, from Kelaniya Bridge to Peliyagoda interchange, it has six lanes and four lanes beyond that.
It has 80 km/hr and 100 km/hr design speed. OCR is designed to have four lanes and 100 km/hr
design speed. Additionally there is a proposal for a Northern Expressway (NE) from Colombo to
Dambulla, proposed to commence in 2015.

A.2.4.2.1 Capacity

Nearly 90 km of the operational expressways serve the CMR and has particularly support to develop
new urban centres such as Kottawa and Kaduwela while easing the traffic in Colombo city. However,
since these expressways are running outside of Colombo City, the accessibility to expressways from
Colombo city and Southern suburbs is becoming an issue as the access roads have not been
upgraded with the introduction of the expressways.

A.2.4.2.2 Speed

Traffic demand on the existing roads is almost at capacity or has exceeded the capacity in CMC and
suburbs causing traffic congestion in the area during most of the day time. To solve the traffic
congestion problem, some solutions such as introducing new road links such as Marine Drive and
road widening projects have been carried out in the past. Such projects are slow and expensive.
Even though some of these solutions have provided positive results to some extent, traffic
management solutions such as implementing one way systems and introducing flyovers at major
bottlenecks have not provided the expected benefits. This indicates that the current rate of
increasing road capacity is not sufficient to solve the transport issues in the CMC and suburbs. On
the other hand, even though the radial network is developed to some extent, especially the road
links within the CMC and roads located immediately outside of CMC, the other road links in the
suburbs have not been developed.

A.2.4.3 Bus Transport

Despite the poor service quality and performance, bus transport has been the backbone of
passenger transport since independence. Road based public transport is provided by both public and
private sector. There were over 24,000 public transport buses in operation in Sri Lanka at the end of
2013 which includes;

 Sri Lanka Transport Board (SLTB)/Regional Bus Companies – 4,373

 Private Buses (administered by NTC and Provincial Transport Authorities) – 19,651

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A.2.4.3.1 Modal Share

As shown in Table A-4 the private sector controls the greater modal share where it has increased
during the last decade. In 2003 private sector shared 70% of the bus passenger kilometres while
SLTB shared the balance 30%. However, by 2013 the modal share between private bus sector and
SLTB bus sector has changed drastically. The private bus sector carried over 14 billion passenger
kilometres (which is around 83%) while SLTB carried only 2.9 billion passenger kilometres.

Table A-4: Bus Passenger Km and Modal Share in CMR (2010-2013)

Year Passenger Km (bn) Modal Share
Private CTB Private CTB
2003 11,958.7 5,075.9 70% 30%
2004 11,390.4 4,983.0 70% 30%
2005 11,921.2 4,749.4 72% 28%
2010 13,999.5 2,798.1 83% 17%
2011 14,678.9 2,911.7 83% 17%
2012 15,356.3 2,882.1 84% 16%
2013 14,031.2 2,906.1 83% 17%
Source: Central Bank (2014)

A.2.4.3.2 Capacity

As of 2013, 7,176 buses were required to fulfil the time table requirement of SLTB island wide, but
only around 61% of the requirement was available. In addition to the lack of SLTB buses, poor
management, lack of maintenance and staffing issues are some constraints for providing a
satisfactory service. The lack of a proper regulatory regime has created an unhealthy competition
between operators while deteriorating the quality of the bus service. Increasing load factor has
reduced bus patronage. Furthermore, lack of bus time tables have further contributed to the poor
service. Even though some initiatives were taken to implement a coordinated bus time table
between private operators and SLTB buses, it was not successful due to political and administrative
barriers.

On the other hand, there is an oversupply in the private bus sector, especially in the CMR as the
Western Province Passenger Transport Authority has issued more route permits than required. The
supply of buses is not aligned with the passenger demand.

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 Figure A-5: Modal Share of Public Transport in CMR

In addition to the operational issues in bus transport, lack of intra-mode coordination, insufficient
bus infrastructure and bus priority options also significantly contributes to reduce the modal share
for buses. Even though various bus priority options have been recommended from various studies,
none of them have been implemented. According to Table A-5 the passenger km travelled by public
transport has varied.

Table A-5 : Bus and Railway Operations in CMR

2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013
Private Bus
Total Fleet 7,405 7,256 6,901 7,137 7,201 6,970
Buses Operated 5,250 5,079 5,535 5,803 6,071 5,384
Seating Capacity 259,175 228,564 249,057 261,135 273,195 292,740
Operated Km Million 252.9 244.7 266.7 279.6 292.5 267.3
Passenger Km Million 13,280 12,848 14,000 14,679 15,356 14,031
SLTB
Buses Operated 1.170 1,139 1,083 1,088 1,050 1,068
Operated Km Million 83.9 76 81.2 83.3 80.6 82.3
Passenger Km Million 3,881 2,804 2,798 2,912 2,882 2,906
Railway
Operated KM (Million) 4.5 4.7 4.8 4.9 5.2 5.2
Passenger Km (Million) 3,222.4 3,186.9 2,782.3 2,923.5 3,230.7 3,984.6
Freight Tonne KM (Million) 31.3 27.4 42.3 39.9 37.2 33.3

Source: Economic and Social Statistics of Sri Lanka, Central Bank of Sri Lanka (2014)

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A.2.4.3.3 Management

The Regional Passenger Transport Authority (RPTA) of the CMR is authorized to issue route permits
for intra-provincial buses and for regularizing bus transport within the province. Currently there are
around 6,970 private omnibuses operating with permits issued by the RPTA of the WP. In addition
there are around 1,068 state owned buses belonging to the Sri Lanka Transport Board (SLTB), which
comes under the Ministry of Transport of the Central Government which are not issued route
permits but are also operating within the province. Besides this there are another 865 buses issued
with permits by National Transport Commission (NTC) for inter-provincial (long-distance) services
starting from within the province.

A.2.4.4 Para-transit

Para-transit or hiring passenger transport includes any vehicle which carries passengers for fee or
rewards other than an omnibus, train or any other mode of public passenger transport. Presently
such transport in Sri Lanka includes:

o Three Wheeler taxis

o Taxis offered through Call Centers

o School Transport Services

o Office Transport Services

o Chartered transport services

o Other forms of informal transport services found especially in some rural areas.

A.2.4.4.1 Service

Para- transit, which is predominantly made up of over 400,000 three wheelers, also includes a wide
cross section of other services ranging from school services to rural vehicles, all of which are also
fully deregulated. The high rate of accidents, low productivity and collusive behaviour are reasons
why some degree of regulatory control has been suggested for these sectors.

A.2.4.4.2 Management

There have been some recent efforts to organize this sector. Some taxi companies have continued
successful operations in Colombo with call centre operations. This is now being extended to the
three wheeler industry as well. However, there is a strong preference both from passengers as well
as suppliers to continue with the informal and unregulated industry as it is now considered as an
alternative to public transports, especially during the night time since there is a lack of bus service in
the night.

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A.3 TRANSPORT AND ENVIRONMENTAL ISSUES

A.3.1 Characteristics of Natural Land

Low-lying lands or wetlands are a major geographical characteristic in Western Province which plays
an important role in maintaining biodiversity and water retention function for flood control. The
finger shaped wetlands and higher ground areas in between create an undulating landscape. These
wetlands have been used as paddy fields, and rice cultivation is still active in Western Province
except around Colombo urbanised areas.

These wetlands in Western Province are assessed by UDA, Sri Lanka Land Reclamation and
Development Corporation (SLLRDC) and Central Environmental Authority (CEA) for their importance
in terms of environmental protection and development potential. Additionally, it should be noted
that there are regular flood risks, especially in the Kelani Ganga Basin and Kalu Ganga Basin. The
effect of flooding must be considered for future land use patterns.

A.3.2 Major Contributors for Air Pollution

Rapid urbanization and industrial development are the main factors responsible for air pollution
where main contributors are the industries and vehicle fleets. Ever increasing use of vehicles in the
transport sector without proper monitoring, controlling and regulation of emissions together with
lack of standards and national interest has resulted in substandard air quality in Sri Lanka, especially
in the main urban areas of Colombo, resulting in adverse health conditions as well.

1. Air Polluting Emissions from Transport Sector

It is estimated that around 60% of the vehicle fleet are concentrated in the Western Province. The
atmospheric environments in Colombo and its suburbs are deteriorating due to a flow of motor
vehicles into the city and traffic congestion on the roads. During peak periods, the density of
pollutants such as NO2, SO2 and CO shows an increasing trend. Thus, it is inferred that the
atmospheric conditions along the roads are even worse.

The Air Resource Management Center (AirMac) has calculated the base case emissions from the
transport sector, the ‘Do Nothing Scenario’, for the period between 1990 and 2015. The emissions
are calculated using an emission inventory model which has the flexibility to be locally customised
and accepts local vehicle populations, vehicle filed use data inputs (annual mileage, average traffic
speeds, local emission factors when they exist, etc.), and typical local fuel qualities. It is estimated
that each pollutant from the transport sector has increased.

In addition, a breakdown of each pollutant by vehicle type in 2000 is calculated for major emitters
such as Gasoline engine vehicles and Diesel engine vehicles. Among these, Gasoline engines are
bigger emitters of CO and Hydrocarbon (HC) while NOx and PM are mostly emitted from diesel
engines.

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The main findings from the emission calculations of the study shows;

 Hydro Carbon (HC) emissions have more than doubled between 1990 and 2000, and by 2015
are expected to grow by a factor of 6 to 7 versus 1990.
 Motorcycles and motor tricycles together contribute about 90% of the HC of gasoline engine
vehicles.
 Heavy buses and trucks together contribute to 60-70% of NOx and PM emissions of the
diesel engine vehicles.

2. Ambient Air Quality

Continuous Air Quality Monitoring is currently in operation at Colombo Fort Station of Western
Province, until 2008, the monitoring had been carried out for CO, SO2, NO2, O3 and PM10. However,
at present the Air Quality monitoring is confined to PM10 only. It is learned that from 2013 onwards,
the Air Quality level determination for SO2, NO2, CO, PM10, PM2.5 and O3 will be measured by the
Passive Sampling method, which is expected to be monitored for the next 10 years in 2 sites that is
Colombo and Gampaha.

According to the observed data in 2008, maximum concentration of CO and NO2 were within the
local standards, however, SO2 and PM10 were occasionally observed to exceed the standard.
Further, there are a few industrial zones in Colombo and Gampaha area which eventually aggravate
the pollution levels of the surrounding environment.

Data availability for PM2.5 in Western Province is less, which causes greater health risk due to its
fine size. In typical cities PM2.5 accounts for 50-60% of the total PM10. However, it is discussed that
PM2.5 concentration in the central area of Colombo and along major roads are high enough to
present a significant risk to public health based on the data of other similar cities (Bango and Santo
Domingo).

In order to address the increasing air pollution, Air Mac was launched in 2002 and several major
activities were implemented by Air Mac including

 Amendment of the air emission standard for mobile vehicles.

 The development of the ‘Clean Air 2007 Action Plan’
 Implementation of Vehicle Emission Testing

A.3.3 Climatic Change

Green Houses Gases (GHG) are the main contributors of the Global Warming. Emissions from
transport represented 22% of global CO2 emissions in 2010 (including emissions from non-fuel
combustion) and almost 75% of the emissions from transport is from the road sector. According to
the International Energy Agency (IEA) report, a little over half of total CO2 emission from fuel
combustion was from the transport system, of which the road sector contributes the most
(approximately 94%). Although Sri Lanka’s contribution of GHG is very minor at the global level, the

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portion of CO2 emission from the road sector in the Western part of Sri Lanka is very high, especially
in Western Province where 28% of the total population lives.

A.4 REVIEW OF PREVIOUS URBAN STUDIES FOR CMR

Several urban and transport Master plans have been undertaken for the City of Colombo and the
CMR since the British colonial times.

A.4.1 Patrick Geddes Plan-1921

The first recorded Colombo city plan study was undertaken by Sir Patrick Geddes in 1921, where he
saw “Colombo” as a successful city due to its port which was the third largest in the empire and the
fifth largest in the world at that time. Geddes discouraged destructive approaches such as
demolishing houses of the poor, and instead recommended gradual execution of legislation through
a conservative approach and stressed that the objectives should be driven by planning. Geddes
further stressed the significance of larger development and beautification of the city where he
proposed to develop Colombo as a “garden city”. This plan was incorporated with the Beira Lake, the
tree lined streets such as Baudhaloka Mawatha and the grid road system in Cinnamon Gardens area
which still contributes to beautify the Colombo city.

A.4.2 Patrick Abercrombie Plan-1949

In 1948, Patrick Abercrombie developed a plan which was approved by the Central Planning
Commission in March 1949. This plan highlighted that the concentration of economic, trade and port
related operations in the city as a major issue. It was stressed that decentralization of activities as a
solution, with satellites towns such as Ratmalana, Homagama and Ragama proposed from his plan.

A.4.3 Colombo Masterplan-1978

In 1978, another master plan called the “Colombo Master Plan” was introduced by the UNDP. It was
the first master plan to include the other districts in the Western Province. In addition to Colombo
district it fully covered Gampaha district while only a part of the Kalutara district was included in the
plan. This Master plan proposed a balanced regional development strategy. However, this strategy
was not successful due to the urban sprawl continuing at a faster rate than in the past, hence the
Colombo urban area expanded beyond its physical limit. However, under this master plan several
key projects such as introducing investment promotion zone in Katunayake, establishment of Urban
Development Authority and selecting Kotte as the administrative capital were implemented.

A.4.4 Colombo City Development Plan-1985

The UDA prepared another Colombo city development plan in 1985. It included the zoning and
building regulations. This plan also resulted in selective developments which included the

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implementation of the Supreme Court Complex, Sri Jayewardenepura Kotte Parliament complex and
industrial processing zones in Biyagama and Katunayake.

A.4.5 Colombo Metropolitan Regional Structure Plan/Colombo Development Plan-1999

During this time the development significantly changed the urban structure and environment in
Colombo. It has resulted in many positive impacts such as increased economic development,
employment and infrastructure facilities as well as negative impacts such as increased congestion
and environmental pollution in the city. This creates a need for a new master plan for CMR. Even
though UDA tried to revise the Colombo Master Plan of 1979, it was identified that since the
economic features and the structure of the Colombo had changed drastically, updating an existing
master plan was not sufficient. Hence, a new structure plan was introduced covering the entire
Western Province focusing mainly on the sustainable development concept. Hence, Colombo
Metropolitan Regional Structural Plan (CMRSP) was introduced in 1998. It was the first master plan
that examined all sectors of urban development and transport infrastructure with the involvement
of many stakeholders in areas such as public transport, economic development, urban development
and infrastructure. It also developed an urban hierarchy system and identified several urban
agglomerations (such as Negombo, Gampaha, Biyagama, Homagama and Horana) as growth centers
in the Western Province. It also proposed to construct a north-south highway to connect all growth
centers, a circular light railway system close to core areas, and electrification of railways and to
identify high mobility roads. The main objectives and goals of the CMRSP are given in Table A-6.

Table A-6 : Main Objectives and Goals of CMRSP

Objective
Provide opportunities for increased economic
development, employment generation, and
improved living standards
Improve accessibility and mobility
Promote environmentally sustainable urban
growth
Reinforce core functions of metropolitan area
Increase the housing supply
Formulate an investment program for funding
Source: CMRSP (1998)
Goal
The region is to play a leadership role in the national
economy, via growth centers for new investments in
industrial and infrastructure development
Introduce new transport facilities and land-use plan to
improve accessibility and mobility
Introduce growth centers and conserve environmentally
sensitive areas
Extend functions top new core areas and improve
accessibility within the region
Provide infrastructure to new areas of expansion to
facilitate the housing supply
Increase opportunities for private sector participation in
urban investment

Even though CRMSP was accepted as the first comprehensive master plan introduced for the CMR, it
was not approved since the government changed soon after that. Moreover, since the plan was
prepared by the UDA which did not have authority to prepare a regional plan, the CMRSP could not
be put into the gazette to be made legally binding. As a result, the UDA extracted the “core area
plan” from the CMRSP and gazette as the Colombo Development Plan replacing the previous CDP of
1985. The main visions of CDP-1999 were;

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  To create a gracious city functionally efficient, economically viable and socially integrated to
address the challenges associated with improving quality of life and
 To act as the engine of national economic growth for Sri Lanka

CDP-1999 proposed several transport related projects to meet above objectives and goals. This
includes;

 Efficient parking system

 Introduce vehicle entry fees
 Staggering school and office hours
 Exclusive bus lanes
 Improvement and extension of Baseline road,
 Extension of Marine Drive,
 Extension of Duplication Road and
 Construction of Colombo-Katunayake Expressway

A.4.6 Colombo Urban Transport Study -1999

Soon after releasing CPD-1999, another urban study report which was a result of seven years of
work on Colombo Urban Transport Study was released in 1999. As explained in Table A-7 the main
goal of this study was to make the best use of existing system components through short-term,
medium-term and long-term strategies to meet the transport needs in the Colombo City. To support
this objective, it proposed various institutional strengthening programs and feasibility schemes and
recommended various policy reforms to improve urban transport system in the city.

Table A-7 : Project Plans Proposed by the CUTS2

Project Plans
Bus Services Action Plan
Rail Services Action Plan
City Centre Conceptual
Transport Plan
Objective
 Increase quality of bus transport while increasing financially viability
and reduce overloading
 To continue the control operations on both private and public bus
operations to ensure high quality and lower cost
 Public sector to provide basic bus services under affordable prices
while the private sector to focus on providing high quality services on
unregulated prices
 Public sector to increase their modal share
 Regulatory changes to get private bus owners to form as groups
 Establishing a new safety and operational department
 Establish a new works department
 Rename “operations department” as “Commercial Department” to be
responsible customer service and service delivery
 Create a freight department responsible for marketing and planning
 Create a strategic planning unit for overall business planning and
performance measurements
 Develop a long-term transport plan for city centre with one-way ring
around fort, restrict car entering to city, provide priority to bus and
pedestrian; redevelop and upgrade Pettah as a transport centre;

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 Project Plans Objective
develop Manning Market as a bus station; and develop Pettah as a
market for pedestrian with Bazaar-type atmosphere

Rail/Road Coordination
Transportation Master Plan
Traffic Management Policy
Pre-feasibility Study for Kelani
River Rail Bridge
Feasibility for extending
Duplication Road
Mass Rapid Transit
Pre-Feasibility study for Inland
Container Depot
 Improved bus station & layout at Gampaha; improve pedestrian
crossing facilities and accessibility
 Introduce LRT on Galle Road, Negombo Road, High Level Road and Sri
Jayewardenepura Kotte Road; electrify railway service; develop the
main line as a dual track; widen all major arterials to four or six lanes;
introduce bus priority lanes; implement traffic restraints measures
such as part-and-ride, demand spreading, parking restrictions, ride
sharing etc.
 Establish a traffic management council
 Construction of 3 bridge over Kelani River
rd
 Extending Duplication Road to Ratmalana
 Identify possibility of developing an MRT on Galle Road and
Duplication Road
 To remedy the lack of capacity at port, to encourage private sector
investment, use existing infrastructure to down the cost

A.4.7 Colombo Urban Transport Study -2006

The Transport Master Plan prepared by JICA in 2006 aimed to identify the CMR urbanization and
urban transport issues; formulate high priority list of projects to mitigate those issues and to conduct
pre-feasibility studies to identify the projects for the purpose of implementation. JICA study team
proposed five policy objectives which aim mainly to improve public transport. This includes;

 Improve policy coordination and administrative capacity

 Promote-transit-oriented urban development
 Promote public transport system development and use
 Improve urban road systems particularly arterials and
 Utilise existing infrastructures and facilities better

JICA-2006 study also reviewed existing proposals for CMR and prepared a project list which
consisted with 209 projects; where 46 projects which were meeting the study objectives were short
listed. Of the 46 selected projects, 36 projects were identified as high priority projects and
categorised in to three categories. For example, 11 projects were selected for capacity building,
seven were considered as non-infrastructure projects while the balance 18 projects were considered
as infrastructure development projects. It has been observed that implementing those projects
would ease the traffic issues in Colombo. It also highlighted that implementing these projects would
be financially viable as obtaining funding would be easy through local and foreign sources.

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A.4.8 JICA CoMTrans Master Plan Study

The recent master plan study undertaken by the JICA in 2013/14 aimed to prepare a reliable
transport database to be used to evaluate and formulate transport plans/projects, in order to
develop an equal, efficient, reliable, environmentally friendly and safe transport system. As
illustrated in Figure A-6, to meet these objectives, relevant urban transport policies should be
introduced and implemented to promote the use of public transport, alleviate traffic congestion, to
reduce environmental pollution and to increase safety and security of the transport system.

Figure A-6 : Policy Measures for Urban Transport Policy

Source: CoMTrans (2014)

It also formulated a comprehensive urban transport master plan for the Colombo Metropolitan area,
where it has selected six transport corridors to develop with projects in short-term, medium-term
and long-term implementation plans.

A.4.9 Summary of Recommendations from Previous Plans

Table A-8 provides a summary of the recommendations suggested from previous master plans. Each
study has reviewed various transport projects to implement to face the challenges in the CMR,
especially in the CMC area. This study categorised those projects into eight categories as illustrated
in Table A-9.

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 Table A-8 : Summary of Previous Studies
Study Name Recommendations
CMRSP (1999) by UDA  Improved Public Transport (bus);
 Increased Capacity and connectivity on Road Network;
 Increased capacity, performance and connectivity of rail network;
 Introduce Safety Regulation for office & school vans and three-wheelers;
 Transport Demand Management Measures such as Zonal parking, ERP,
staggering school hrs, bus exclusive lanes etc. in Colombo City;
 Promote Transport Modal Integration;
 Traffic Management measures on main roads
CDP (1999) by UDA  Increased Capacity and connectivity on Road Network
 Transport Modal Integration
 Improved Bus Transport
 Increased capacity, performance and connectivity of rail network
 Transport Demand Management Measures
 Traffic Management measures on main roads
CUTS (1999) by WB/WS  Improve Bus Transport service and quality
Atkins with Univ of  Institutional Capacity Development
Moratuwa  Introduce Mass Rapid Transits systems on high demand corridors
 Increase Road capacity
 Improve railways facilities and infrastructure
Master Plan (2006) by  Improve policy coordination and administrative capacity (e.g. establish PCUT)
JICA/Oriental Consultants  Promote transit-oriented-development
 Promote public transport system development and use
 Improve urban road systems
 Utilize existing infrastructures and facilities better
Transport Policy Note  Improve Choice for consumers
(2012) by World Bank/  Introduce new technology namely BRT or LRT
Prof. Amal S. Kumarage  Improve railway capacity
Report on Greater  Introduce new services such as Variable Work Hour Program, premium
Colombo Traffic services and car/van pooling services to reduce fuel usage
Management (2009) /  BRT on Battaramulla to Dematagoda
Kumarage A.S. and J.
Weerawardena
CoMTrans Master Plan  Promotion of Public Transport
(2014) by JICA/Oriental  Alleviate Traffic Congestion
Consultants  Reduce Pollution
 Traffic Safety and Security

As illustrated in Table A-9 previous studies have recommended development in areas such as
railway, bus transport and managing transport demand as main strategies to increase the efficiency
and effectiveness of the transport system in the CMR. Improvements of road network and
developing institutional capacity are also two other strategies suggested by these studies. Most
recent master plan studies have recommended the introduction of rapid transport systems as
essential in addition to the other strategies mentioned above because it helps to enhance the
utilisation of limited infrastructure such as road.

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 Table A-9 : Proposed Major Development Areas from previous Master plans
Study Name

Development of Bus
Transport Demand

Improved Roads
Development of

Development of
Rapid Transport

Environmental

Improve Road
Management

Institutional
Transport

Capacity
Improve
Develop

Impacts
Railway

Safety
CMRSP (1999) by UDA √ √ √ √ √ √
CDP (1999) by UDA √ √ √
CUTS2 (1999) by WB √ √ √ √ √
Master Plan (2006) by JICA √ √ √ √ √
GCTM (2012) √ √
Transport Policy Note (2012) √ √ √ √
by WB/Prof. Kumarage
Master Plan (2013) by √ √ √ √ √
CoMTrans

Table A-10 illustrated the various transport projects that have been proposed for the main corridors.
According to this table development of railway system has been the main recommendation for
Negombo and Kandy corridors with development of bus priority options being the main suggestion
for Horana and low level roads. In the case of Galle corridor there are several suggestions such as
LRT, bus priority lanes, development of railway system and introducing mass transport systems such
as BRT.

Table A-10 : Proposed Projects for Seven Corridors

Study CUTS2 CUT GCTM Policy Note CoMTrans
Agency MoT/WB MoT/JICA UoM WB MoT/JICA
Proponent WS Atkins Oriental Kumarage Kumarage Oriental
Year 1999 2006 2009 2012 2014
Corridor
Negombo LRT & Rail Rail Rail Rail
Kandy Rail Rail Rail/BRT Rail/BRT
Low Level Bus Priority Bus Priority Bus Priority Bus Priority
5
Malabe LRT BRT BRT BRT Monorail
High Level LRT/BPL LRT Monorail
Horana Bus Priority Bus Priority Bus Priority
Galle LRT/BPL Rail/BRT Rail/BRT Rail/BRT

A.5 IMPLEMENTATION OF PREVIOUS URBAN AND TRANSPORT MASTER PLANS

The past record in implementing transport plans in Sri Lanka and especially in the CMR has been
extremely poor. Table A-11 gives a summary of the level of implementation of the transport plans
referred to above.

5 From Battaramulla to Dematagoda

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 Table A-11: Level of Implementation of Transport Plans
Sector Status of Recommendations
Public transport policy Not implemented. A Land Transport Policy was formulated in 2010 in this
orientation line, but not implemented since.
Institutional Capacity Building Not implemented.
and Coordination
Bus Transport None of the major recommendations have been implemented. Some
developments efforts in commencing a park and ride, tendering of bus
routes, scheduling, restructuring of bus ownership, institutional capacity
building have all been discontinued.
Railway Transport Some improvement to track, rolling stock and operations have been
effected.
Road Transport Some recommendations such as Marine Drive, road rehabilitations have
been completed.
Rapid Transit Not implemented. A BRT pre-feasibility study was carried out in 2009 but
not followed up.
Traffic Management An ERP study was carried out in 2009 but not implemented. No other
recommendations implemented
Transport Integration Not implemented
Good Transport Not implemented
Road Safety Some improvements have been incorporated to road rehabilitation
projects. No other strategic improvement.

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30 | P a g e
 PART B- COLOMBO METROPOLITAN
REGIONAL TRANSPORT MASTERPLAN

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32 | P a g e
B COLOMBO METROPOLITAN REGIONAL TRANSPORT
MASTERPLAN

B.1 MAJOR MOBILITY ISSUES IDENTIFIED

The transport Masterplan plan is prepared in order to obtain a clear understanding of the
requirements of a future transportation system that would be beneficial to residents and transport
users within the CMR. This is followed by making recommendations to provide a transport system
which will support social, environmental and economic sustainability while increasing accountability
and responsiveness to its users. The current and developing major transport issues in the CMR have
been identified and discussed as follows:

The following are the major issues identified as shortfalls in satisfactorily meeting the current
transport demand in the CMR.

B.1.1 There is an Income-led Rapid Increase in Mobility

Given the current level of income and its continuing growth, mobility is expected to continue to
grow rapidly. Income is also translating to a rapid increase in vehicle ownership. However, the
current transport infrastructure as well as the transport management systems cannot cope with the
current demand let alone future demand.

The vehicle ownership in the CMR is already 228 per 1,000 persons. As such without any change to
transport policy, the increase in vehicle fleet to support a socioeconomic growth rate of 6.5% of GDP
p.a. and a population increase of over 1% p.a. would result in the growth of the motor vehicle fleet
in the CMR by an average of 7% p.a. over the planning period of 20 years. This would mean that the
road space requirement would double over 12 years which will not be possible for a densely
populated area such as the CMR.

B.1.2 Rapid Motorization Creates Congestion

The CMR continues to receive increasing numbers of vehicles year on year. The travel speeds on
roads within the CMC as well as roads within the Inner part of the CMR –referred to as CMR (I) in the
report have deteriorated with this increase in motorisation. Even though several road rehabilitation
programs and expressway programs are in progress in the CMR, the net addition to capacity is far
less than the estimated requirement. This is evident by the continuing increase in congestion on all
roads. Traffic congestion has also increased due to inadequate network configuration, poor
intersection designs and inefficient use of IT and technology as well as lack of mass transport
systems, all of which contribute to inefficiency in public transport.

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B.1.3 Failure of Road Building as Strategy to Manage Congestion

There is no strategic plan to deal with this increase in required road space. The government should
make a policy decision if it intends to continue on investing only on building roads as a strategic plan
to deal with congestion or if it needs to change its strategy. It needs to consider this together with
other limiting factors such land availability and environmental and social constraints. It is evident
that a well formulated Transport Demand Management Strategy is required to sustain congestion so
that it does not hinder economic development and personal prosperity in the CMR. This will require
a policy level intervention on future investment and management of transport.

B.1.4 Failure to Integrate Urban Land Use Strategy and Mobility Provision

The historical development of urban land use in the CMR has been mostly ad hoc. As a result land
development without consideration of the ability to supply the required demand for mobility arising
from such developments has caused increases in mobility that cannot be supported by existing
transport infrastructure. Moreover commercial requirements of transport have resulted in conflict
with urban residential requirements. Most urban centres other than Colombo city remain small with
ribbon development along major arterials which are very disruptive to mobility requirements of
Colombo city and CMR as a whole. The conversion of agricultural land to residential has made
created low residential areas that are difficult to serve with public transport. Poor transport to
locations away from major corridors has put enormous pressure on land close to major arteries
resulting in land values increasing rapidly.

B.1.5 Failure to Arrest the Deterioration in the quality of Urban Livability

The rapid invasion of motor vehicles not just on the main roads, but also on residential and by roads
is a major threat to livability in the city. Furthermore public space on roads, sidewalks, parks are
constantly occupied by parked vehicles leaving little space for walking and any other leisure activity
in city as well as suburban areas. The impacts of vehicle emissions on air quality, noise pollution as
well as visual pollution have been noted as growing concerns in the CMR. A special concern is the
increasing accidents in the CMR, especially to pedestrians and cyclists for whom very little road
infrastructure is provided even though 25% of all trips are non-motorized.

B.1.6 Failure to Arrest the Increasing Cost of Transport and Economic Viability

The study reveals that the total cost of transport within the CMR is as high as 9.9% of regional GDP
especially due to the slow mobility within the CMR. Increased traffic congestion has resulted in the
total transport cost which includes congestion cost, operating cost, accident cost and costs related
to environmental pollution. The convenience and comfort levels in public transport are deteriorating
and need to be reversed to provide lower transport cost to society. The’ Do Nothing’ scenario of not
intervening in urban transport will result in the cost of mobility increasing to 19.2% of GDP as early
as 2020 if the urban economy is to increase at 6.5% p.a. Traffic speeds are expected to fall to
average of 13 km/hr within the province and to 8 km/hr within Colombo. Clearly at these service

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levels, economic growth is likely to slow down well below the target 6.5% p.a. This will also lead to
higher transport prices and cost of living where the current average cost of moving one person
which is Rs 15 per km will increase to Rs 28 per km.

If the transport system fails to deliver the required functionality it is likely that economic
development as well as social and cultural progress would be constrained. The CMR has already
experienced a negative population migration with the centre suffering the most. Access to the city
and high land prices are a key factor that constrains development of Colombo City. Other issues such
as congestion, high transport costs and poor air quality are likely to worsen if remedial measures are
not implemented quickly. This has happened in many countries where infrastructure has lagged the
required demand.

B.1.7 Failure to Align Transport Policy To Change & Modernization

Several transport studies and plans conducted over the last three decades have repeatedly
recommended that a Transit Oriented Development or development of public transport should be
the strategy for development of transport in the CMR. Several initiatives that had been taken
towards this have also been discontinued. This includes the non-implementation of the Land
Transport Policy formulated in 2010, electronic road pricing and BRT initiatives. Restructuring the
bus sector, introducing traffic management, improving road safety and inter modal integration,
which are areas that the Ministry of Transport as the responsible agency is expected to take
leadership. No new modes of urban transport such as BRT, Bus Priority or any new type of rail
systems such as metro, monorail or LRTs have been introduced. The intense preoccupation of the
Ministry in operational issues pertaining to trains and buses is seen as a primary reason for
overlooking these critical areas.

B.1.8 Failure to Invest on Urban Public Transport and Traffic Management

In recent years, more than 15% of the GDP has been shared by the transport and communication
sector in total. Whilst share of current expenditure on the transport and communication sector has
been around 3%, the share of capital expenditure has been more than 40%.

Expenditure of the Ministry of Highways and Investment Promotion has increased from 2005 levels
where the capital expenditure is now more than 150 billion Sri Lankan Rupees, which is nearly 4
times larger than the capital expenditure of Ministry of Internal Transport which is responsible for
the railways, bus transport, road safety and vehicle administration.

Clearly, many urban corridors in the CMR are in urgent need of supplementary transport capacity.
This can be provided by improving existing railway as well as bus capacity. However several of the
major corridors have exceeded the capacity for allowing an efficient bus service in mixed traffic.
Such corridors should consider implementing BRT or at least bus priority systems. Road
development should centre on accommodating public transport as against providing more lanes for
general traffic. Expressway programs as well as road rehabilitation programs should essentially

35 | P a g e
consider providing public transport capacity as a first requirement. An increase in investment for
new rail based urban transport systems, transport integration, traffic management systems are the
most likely highly productive investments for improving transport for all. It is noted that investment
for urban transport has not changed even though investment for roads and railways have increased
several fold over the last decade.

The current policy of government is to invest in highways and provide operational subsidies for the
state operated public transport services. This is required to change to receiving investment for public
transport instead of operating subsidies. Investment can be by either State or private sources. Road
user charges also require to be reviewed and tax policies on vehicles and fuel use should be replaced
with user based charges implemented through electronic toll collection systems in urban areas.

B.1.9 Failure to Arrest the Deterioration in the Quality of Public Transport

Quality of all public transport services has not kept pace with passenger expectations that increase
with incomes and development of technology. Lack of passenger-focused strategy implementation
has resulted in deteriorating the quality in both public transport and private transport. Due to poor
service levels in public transport systems, passengers tend to move to private modes (such as motor
cycle and three wheelers) which in turn further increased the traffic congestion on the road due to
limited capacity of the infrastructure. This further contributes to increase the traffic congestion and
travel time within the region. Even though there have been some attempts to increase the
performance and efficiency in the public transport system by introducing coordinated bus times
tables, introducing special services such as Gami sariya and Sisu sariya as well as introducing
tendering system on bus routes, they have not been implemented across the province and have not
been adequate to arrest the deterioration of bus service quality.

B.1.10 Failure to Provide modal choice and integration of Services

Even though the demand for transport has significantly increased during last few decades, there is a
lack of implementation of strategies to increase modal choice and modal integration. This is a major
issue for the public transport systems such as bus and railway. While there is no integration between
bus and railway time tables, there is no integration even between SLTB and private buses. Since
most of the railway stations are located away from main roads, the passengers are compelled to use
an additional mode to access the railway. However many bus operators do not have any motivation
to serve the railway stations due to economic factors. Bus services during lean periods of demand
are not provided. The lack of coordinated bus and railway services has increased the burden on road
traffic and has resulted in and increased shift of passengers from safer modes such as bus and rail to
more vulnerable transport modes such as motor cycles and three wheelers. This arises from an
agency based approach for transport provision where each agency promotes its own mode of
transport. This should be replaced with an area based responsibility that will cut across different
modes and will work towards obtaining the best overall efficiency as opposed to supply based
decision making.

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B.1.11 Failure of Public Transport Institutions To Improve Sector Performance

The study reveals that both the bus and railway have failed to provide the required mobility for
passengers in the CMR. The railway succeeds only in the longer distance travel of over 20 km. The
railway has track and rolling stock capacity that is poorly utilised while the number of buses available
are far in excess of what is required to provide an efficient service in the CMR. Clearly the public
transport sector needs to be reformed in terms of management and regulation ahead of
modernization. The institutional capacity is under developed and any improvement to public
transport requires the urgent attention of improving the human resources as well as reforming the
regulatory and management regimes of public transport in the CMR. This issue is linked with the
politicization of public transport operations, regulation and management.

B.2 RECOMMENDATIONS FOR A STRATEGIC TRANSPORT MASTERPLAN

B.2.1 Planning Horizons

A transport Masterplan is developed to address the above issues. It adopts the following planning
horizons:

 Short Term (2020),

 Intermediate-term (2025) and
 Long-Term (2035)

B.2.2 Planning Process

The planning process will proceed along the following steps:

a) Defining the current Status Quo of transport in the CMR (2013) as the Base Case
b) Design of future demand estimation scenarios required for providing the mobility
requirements for the targeted demographic and economic activities
c) Using STRADA demand forecasting model, to select and rank the transport projects that best
meets the future mobility requirement for each of the seven major transport corridors in the
CMR
d) Using STRADA model to select and rank the network development program that best
provides for the future mobility requirement for all corridors and orbital flows when taking
the CMR as a whole
e) Using STRADA model to select a combination of networks and modes that provide the best
transport solutions for the CMR
f) Determine the facilitating institutional requirements to implement these proposals. This
would include:
a. Policy interventions

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 b. Legal and Institutional changes required
c. Investment requirement
d. Financing transport operations costs
g) Develop a schedule for implementing the plan according to the planning horizons
h) Overall sector development investments that would improve safety, security, environmental
features of transport.

B.2.3 Socio-Economic Growth Scenarios

Table B-1 shows the growth scenarios adopted for the UoM Study for use in the STRADA transport
demand model estimation. Accordingly, the CoMTrans Study medium forecast population growth
rate for CMR has been used which indicates a growth rate of 1.4 to 1.5% p.a. over the planning
period, which will increase population to 7.94 million. An economic growth rate of 6.5% p.a. has
been assumed for the period 2013-203. However the elasticity of trip making or mobility with
respect to economic growth has been assumed to reduce with time. As shown below it is expected
to result in the growth of trip making reducing from 5.5% p.a. in the short term to 3% p.a. in the long
term. This is to accommodate the reduction in growth after middle income levels are achieved.

Table B-1: Growth Scenarios

Period Population Population Economic Elasticity Mobility Trips in
(at end) mn Growth Rate Growth Rate % Growth Rate CMR per
(% p.a) (% p.a.) (% p.a.) day

National
1960-1985 15.8 1.9 4.0 62.5 4.4
1985-2013 20.7 1.0 6.0 38.3 3.3
CMR
2013 5.82 7.8
2013-2020 6.39 1.4 6.5 0.85 5.5 11.5
2020-2025 6.84 1.4 6.5 0.77 5 14.6
2025-2035 7.94 1.5 6.5 0.46 3 19.7

B.2.4 Vehicle Growth Forecasts

Managing vehicle ownership and use is one of the most effective strategies of managing demand for
urban road space. Many countries in Asia and Europe have active policies that support such
strategies. The justification for such intervention is found in Figure B-1 which shows the trend
observed in many countries across the world where car ownership has been allowed to increase
without and intervention. In this case it can be seen that middle income countries moving up to USD
10,000 per capita income (PPP adjusted) are likely to see vehicle ownership increase from less than
100 vehicles per 1000 people to around 200 vehicles. Even though Sri Lanka’s vehicle ownership rate
is around 150 vehicles per 1000, the vehicle ownership in the CMR is already 228 per 1,000 persons.
As such without any change to transport policy, the increase in vehicle fleet to support a
socioeconomic growth rate of 6.5% of GDP p.a. and a population increase of over 1% p.a. would

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result in the growth of the motor vehicle fleet in the CMR by an average of 7% p.a. over the planning
period of 20 years. This would mean that the road space requirement would double over 12 years
which will not be possible for a densely populated area such as the CMR.

Figure B-1: International Vehicle Ownership Rate Changes with Per Capita Income6

B.2.5 Do Nothing Scenario- 2020

In this study, the worst case scenario is termed the Do Nothing Scenario (DNS) where no
intervention is made to current infrastructure and service but economic growth continues as
estimated at 6.5% p.a. Only infrastructure projects that are already commission and expected to be
completed by 2020 are added to the network. In this case the status quo of 2013 is projected to
2020 as the do nothing scenario. This would clearly set the mobility gap that could be expected for
the infrastructure that is already in place or is assured to meet the development targets. This is
summarized in Table B-2.

6 Source: Dargay, Gately and Sommer, Vehicle Ownership and Income Growth World Wide 2002-2030, January 2007

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 Table B-2: Summary Evaluation of Do Nothing Scenario -2020
2014 2020 % change
Number of Vehicles 1.4 mn 1.95 mn +39%
Average CMR Speed (D2D) km/hr 17 km/hr 13 km/hr -24%
Average CMC Speed (D2D) km/hr 12 km/hr 8 km/hr -33%
Average Time Spent in Travel (per person) 56 mts 88 mts +57%
Fuel Used in CMR 1.4 mn ltrs 4 ml ltrs +180%
Economic Resource Cost of Mobility (2013 Rs) Rs 342 bn/yr Rs 1,012 bn/yr +195%
Average Cost of Travelling 1 km (2013 prices) Rs 15 Rs 28 +87%
Cost of Mobility as % of GDP 9.9% 19.2% +94%

This clearly shows that this scenario is not sustainable. The rapid increase in vehicles, without any
policy intervention would result in reduction of average daily speed below 10 km/hr within the city.
This would not make Colombo attractive as a livable city. The increase in cost of travel would make
economic activity extremely non-competitive globally. However such a scenario is unlikely to be
achieved. That is because the economic growth will gradually reduce as would population growth as
the CMR becomes less attractive for both business and residence. Therefore the growth rate of the
CMR will stabile as a much lower rate perhaps around 2-3% p.a. which can be supported by
transport infrastructure investment. As such an alternate transport sector policy and development
strategy is urgently required to avoid this typical middle income trap.

B.2.6 Policy Intervention to Avoid Middle Income Trap

Middle Income trap is a phenomenon where countries that achieve such status find unable to
continue growth to reach high income status. While there are many issues of technology, and macro
economic factors that contribute to such, transport can also make a significant contribution. Figure
B-2 shows how economic growth that results in increase in personal incomes leads to lifestyle
changes which when translated to higher mobility and demand for increase road space results in
increased external losses If the required road space cannot be added quickly enough. If this happens
economic growth reduces reducing the growth rates and slows down economic progress.

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 Figure B-2: Current Transport Policy

The traditional transport policy intervention in Sri Lanka that was effective during its development as
a low income country was to levy high vehicle taxes and subsidize public transport. While this kept
the demand for road space low enough for moderate development of the highway network, in more
recent years, there has been very heavy public investment to provide for the high growth of vehicles.
However as shown earlier, this level of capital investment in transport and highway infrastructure
which has exceeded Rs 300 billion or nearly 10% of the GDP per annum in recent years, has still not
been adequate to bridge the demand for road space. This is leading to an ever widening gap in the
requirement of road space especially in urban areas where vehicle ownership is increasing rapidly.
The current estimate of Rs 342 bn being the cost of mobility in the CMR accounts for approximately
9.9% of the regional GDP of Sri Lanka assumed to be the value addition of all goods and services
produced in the CMR. This would mean that the potential growth rate is constrained already and the
CMR is unable to reach its true growth potential. This could be early signs that the CMR would not
be able to provide high economic growth. If the CMR fails to generate such economic leadership, it is
unlikely that Sri Lanka’s economy would succeed to lift it from the middle income trap.

The Transport Masterplan proposes that a new transport policy be implemented for urban transport
by a progressive policy framework as shown in Figure B-3 where the traditional vehicle tax methods
are replaced at least in part by vehicle user charges that can be collected through Electronic Road
Pricing (ERP). This is a more direct user fee for those using the road system, which can be varied by
place and time of day to transfer actual road space costs to users. This could also be used as
revenues for increasing urban road space. In a middle income country, the majority of road users can
be expected to be able to afford a toll that can lead to recovery of a significant part of the
investment of a new road. In addition, middle income countries also have high pay back potential for

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public transport. As such private investment can also be attracted to public transport infrastructure.
In this respect it is proposed that the traditional policy of governments subsidizing public transport
be replaced by a policy of increasing public and private investment in public transport. This
combined policy interventions are likely to develop public transport as a priority while expanding the
road space at a sustainable speed.

Figure B-3: Proposal for Transport Policy

B.2.7 Urban Transport Management Policy

The Transport Masterplan proposes a transport demand management policy for the CMR in keeping
with global trends adopted by similar cities that are targeting high growth goals. Figure B-4 shows
how different groups of countries have followed specific vehicle ownership trends when the per
capita income increases. Large, sparsely populated countries have reached 800-900 vehicles per
1000 persons making private transport the primary mode supplying mobility requirements. On the
other extreme are countries such as Singapore and Hong Kong which have restrictive measures for
both ownership and use of motor vehicles. In such instances even at high incomes, vehicle
ownership has been curbed not to exceed 200 vehicles per 1000 persons. Many countries especially
in Europe and Asia have a more middle of the road policy where vehicle ownership appears to
saturate between 400-600 per 1000 persons.

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 Figure B-4: Trends in Vehicle Ownership with Per Capita Income Increases

Figure B-4 shows the factors that limit such vehicle ownership levels. It is primarily the population
density as well as the available road density. When population density is low and road density is high
then a high level of car ownership is sustainable at high incomes. However when the population
density increases together with a reduction in road density, then the level at which unrestricted
vehicle use is sustainable reduces.

Figure B-5: Factors that limit Vehicle Ownership

Given that the population density in CMC and CMR as shown in Table B-3 are both in the range for
High population density, this area falls within the High Population Density Category for which high
level of policy intervention is required to make the public transport the primary method of solving
mobility solutions.

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Table B-3: Critical Factors for Determining Transport Strategy in CMR, CMC areas
CMC CMR
Land Area (Sq km) 40 3,671
Population ('000) 555 5,826
Pop. Density (Pop/ha) 137 16
Land Area % for Road 0.5% 0.5%

Figure B-6: Proposed Public Transport Intensive Areas (Sri Lanka)

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Figure B-6 shows the areas where transport policy interventions are required. The areas such as the
CMC, Dehiwela Mt Lavinia Municipal Council area, Sri Jayewardenepura-Kotte municipal Council
area have high population thus qualifying for immediate transport policy intervention. The areas in
the Inner CMR are in blue colour indicating that they also need interventions that are possibly less
drastic. There are areas outside of the CMR that fall into this category. The green areas, which have
a population density of less than 10 persons per hectare will also need interventions within the next
20 years.

B.2.8 Transit Oriented Development

Colombo evolved from being a Port City to a commercial hub, with transport corridors radiating
from the centre. Colombo has become a mono-centric city. The road corridors serving Colombo
have become dysfunctional due to uncontrolled ribbon development. Mobility between residential
areas and commercial centre in the city has deteriorated sharply. The CMR has developed with
Colombo City as its only commercial and administrative centre which even today attracts 26.5% of
all travel within the province even though it occupies just over 1% of the land area of the province.
This causes the city centre to be difficult to access with all major arteries getting congested.
Moreover the other townships which are all of a substantially lower order are also in most cases
liner townships which have mostly ribbon development along a major highway. This type of urban
centre also is largely dysfunctional and not capable of becoming centres that can effectively take
development away from the City of Colombo.

There is need to consider a different urban structure. This study recommends a hybrid multi centric
structure where several new centres are encouraged while developing Colombo. This is now possible
by using the areas opened up by the Outer Circular Highway. Moreover, in order to support a public
transport intensive development strategy it is required to develop such new centres across the CMR
as Transit Oriented Development (TODs) urban centres and townships.

The new urban development policy has supported the creation of satellite cities across the province
converting the CMR from its mono centric nature to a poly centric layout. Figure B-7 shows the
potential locations for such TOD centres or satellite cities that can be located taking the advantage
of the Outer Circular Highway (OCH) which currently has spare capacity. Locations in close proximity
to the intersection of the OCH and major highways and railways have been selected for
consideration. These locations would require suitable adjustments to support natural growth
patterns as well as other urban development objectives.

The objective of a TOD centre would be to be a centre of local attraction and one which would
provide a high mobility connection through public transport between the City of Colombo and other
TOD centres. This would encourage people travelling between centres to use public transport while
short distance travel to each TOD would be well supported by local public transport feeder services
as well as a road network to maintain a good choice between private and public transport.

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 Figure B-7: Proposed Transit Oriented Development Centres

The TOD scenario thus assumes the creation of centres around higher public transport use given the
multi modal public transport choice that could be planned to develop at these centres starting from
around 2020. This follows the recommendations from previous studies and the evidence that the
mobility requirements arising from the continuing unplanned urbanization within CMR cannot be
sustained in future. The following DSDs were selected to have such TOD urban centres where urban
residential and commercial activities would be encouraged and where strong transport hubs would
be created as shown in Table B-4.

Table B-4 : Description of TOD Centres and Transport Centres/Hubs

TOD Centre Description

Colombo A Multimodal Transport Hub located in Pettah which will provide terminating facility for
long distance buses and trains and will also be a central node for local bus and train
operations as well as proposed monorail and BRT operations. This Hub should be connected
through modern and fast public transport modes on each of the corridors connecting the
Colombo City hub with all other TOD Centres.
Battaramulla A multimodal transport centre that would be based on a new bus route structure aimed at
providing more direct services from all corridors to the new administrative capital of
Colombo. To be served later with monorail/railway services on the Malabe Corridor. The
Battaramulla MTC would be connected to the Colombo City MmTH through the proposed
monorail (or railway) and bus priority routes.
Kaduwela/ In proximity to the interchange of the OCH and the meeting of the Low Level and Malabe

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 TOD Centre Description

Kotelawala corridors as well as the Kelaniya to Biyagama road. This multi modal transport centre could
be used for interchange of long distance and provincial buses. A potential railway
connection can be considered with the reopening of the Sapugaskanda railway line and
extending it to Kotelawala. This MTC would be connected to the Colombo city through a
bus priority lane and also by railway if the line is feasible. It would also be connected to the
Battaramulla MTC through bus priority systems. It would connect all other satellite TODs
through the OCH and the BRT operating on it.
Moratuwa Moratuwa is a logical terminal for commuter traffic to and from Colombo city. However
and/or Panadura is better located given its easy access to the Southern Highway and the Outer
Panadura
Circular Highway and consequently the national road networks. This needs to be studied
later. This should also be the terminal for BRT operations to Colombo as well as on the OCH.
It will also be the terminal for the operation of the modernized and electrified railway. This
MTC would be connected to the Colombo city through a BRT and also by the modernized
railway. It would also be connected to all other satellite TODs through the OCH and the BRT
operating on it.
Kesbewa/ Kahatuduwa is the interchange of the OCH with the Horana Road (AB084). This is around 3
Kahatuduwa km from Kesbewa which is a road junction. A smaller scale transport centre is proposed at
Kahatuduwa that would serve the national bus network as well as the provincial network. It
would also provide a terminal for operation of BRT on the proposed Horana Expressway. A
railway connection may also be investigated. This MTC would be connected to the Colombo
city through a BRT and also the modernized railway if feasible. It would also be connected
to all other satellite TODs through the OCH and the BRT operating on it.
Kottawa/ Makandura is the location of the interchange of the OCH with the Ratnapura Road (A004).
Makandura This is around 2 kms from Kottawa which is an important suburban centre and intersection
of several B class roads. A multi modal transport centre at Makandura will also serve the KV
railway line on which a new station can be constructed at Makandura. It can also evolve as
a terminal for bus operations on the Southern Highway as well as the OCH. It can be the
terminal of local bus operations and the bus priority services proposed for High Level Road.
The proposed monorail can also terminate here. This MTC would be connected to the
Colombo city through the bus priority and also by the modernized railway. The monorail is
also proposed as a long term addition. It would also be connected to all other satellite TODs
through the OCH and the BRT operating on it.
Kadawatha Kadawatha is the interchange of the OCH with the Kandy Road (A001). It provides only road
connection and can be developed for long distance and commuter bus services. This MTC
would be connected to the Colombo city through a BRT and also by the modernized
railway. It would also be connected to all other satellite TODs through the OCH and the BRT
operating on it.
Ragama Ragama is a main railway station serving both the Main Line as well as the Puttlam Line. It
also is accessible to the OCH and the Katunayake Expressway. A multi modal transport
centre can be created here to provide interchange between railway and buses. This MTC
would be connected to the Colombo city through the modernized railway. It would also be
connected to all other satellite TODs through the OCH and the BRT operating on it.

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B.2.9 Transport Technology for Corridors

High mobility corridors require fast, high capacity modes of transport. While the currently used
modes of bus and railways can be developed, they should be compared and where suitable be
supplemented with more appropriate modes. Figure B-8 shows the different modes of urban
transport that can be introduced to the CMR. While underground metros and elevated railways are
expensive and their capacities are not achieved within the planning period, the modes of improved
bus services, Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) services, monorail and improved railways are more aligned to
the capacity requirements in the CMR.

Figure B-8: Carrying Capacity and Cost of Urban Transport Technology

Elevated road will be as expensive as monorail but will carry only a fraction of the capacity if mostly
used by private vehicles. However, an elevated road which carried a BRT will be able to transport up
to 25,000 passengers per hour in peal direction. The above diagram has been used to short list the
technologies that can be used in the CMR. Following the detailed analysis of the CoMTrans study,
the following mode selection strategy is proposed.

 Buses with High Level of Service (BHLS) – lowest cost, modernized buses leading to high
usage especially in corridors where bus flows have not reached capacity.
 BRT – where bus flows have reached capacity, it comparatively low cost ranging from
between 2 to 8 USD per km for most systems.
 Suburban Railways which after electrification, signaling and other improvements that would
allow 2 minute headways
 Monorail – where either of the above are not possible on a corridor

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It is seen that none of the corridors will even by 2035 have adequate travel volumes to justify a high
cost elevated or underground system. Two of the above systems for each corridor would be
adequately effective up to 2035 and beyond.

B.2.10 Buses with High Level of Service (BHLS)

The University of Moratuwa has recommended the introduction of Buses with Higher Levels of
Service which includes the following features7:

 Bus priority measures, improved running way, and high quality vehicles allow the bus to
offer fast, reliable services.
 High quality vehicles, upgraded bus stops, passenger information, and many other features
provide a higher degree of comfort and an attractive travel environment.
 Adjusted routes and services allow better connections to the existing network.
 The combination of improved operations, comfort and service, supported by branding and
marketing, reposition the bus as a high-quality product.
 All of these factors lead to attraction of new customers to public transport, and retention of
existing customers.
 This leads to a mode-shift to public transport from private cars. Mode shift results in less
trips and less vehicle-kilometres made by car.
 In turn, this leads to less fuel consumption, reduced Green House Gas emissions, and
reduction in other emissions harmful at the local level.
 Emissions from the buses are also reduced, in part as they can now perform at the optimum
driving cycle, in part due to investments in newer, cleaner vehicles.
 Improved public transport improves mobility opportunities and quality of life for citizens,
especially those with reduced personal mobility, those seeking job opportunities, and those
at risk of social exclusion.
 In most BHLS systems, the opportunity is taken to improve the host environment by
streetscape improvements and provision of cycle/pedestrian facilities.
 All BHLS exhibit ridership gains which, when coupled with unit cost reductions, contribute to
the financial sustainability of the public transport.

7 Brendan Finn et al (2011), Bus with High Level of Service, ESF, COST, European Union

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B.3 RECOMMENDATIONS FOR TRANSPORT DEVELOPMENT PROJECTS

This section provides the recommendations of this study for improving each of the seven major
corridors serving the CMR.

B.3.1 Recommendations for Developing Transport on Corridors

The ranking of the best performing transport technologies based on the outputs of the STRADA
model result is given in Table B-5. The detail analysis of this modelling exercise is given in Technical
Appendix.

Table B-5: Ranking of Projects Tested for Corridors

Bus Road
Railway BRT Monorail
Priority Widening
Galle Rd 2 1
Horana Rd 2 1 3
HL Road 2 1
Malabe Rd 2 1 3
LL Road 2 1
Kandy Rd 2 1 3
Negombo
1
Rd

B.3.1.1 Galle Road

Table B-5 shows that on Galle Road, the proposal for a BRT which has the highest savings (benefits)
is the preferred choice with Railway Electrification and Modernization as the 2nd choice. The BRT has
the best NPV and IRR as it combines adding two lanes to connect Marine Drive to Galle Road at
Ratmalana either through an elevated 2 lane road on Galle Road or through widening of Galle Road
to six lanes (which will require acquisition) with a fully fledged BRT on Galle Road.

B.3.1.2 Horana Road

For Horana Road it is clear that Bus Priority is the 1st choice with Road widening to follow. Thus the
recommendation for Horana Road is road widening for 4 lanes up to Kahatuduwa with Bus Priority.
An electrified railway line through Battaramulla and Piliyandala is the 2nd best choice provided such a
trace is possible. Though this is a much smaller corridor than Galle Road, the saving arising from the
BRT is almost the same highlighting the importance of improving public transport on this corridor
which is entirely dependent on bus transport since it does not have a railway service unlike in the
case of the Galle Road.

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B.3.1.3 High Level Road

Bus Priority on a 4 lane road up to Makandura Interchange of the Southern Expressway/OCH returns
the best performance. The monorail which has the highest benefits is however ranked 3rd since it is
substantially costlier than the railway electrification and modernization which is the 2nd ranked. The
elevated expressway option returns negative results.

B.3.1.4 Malabe Road

On the Malabe corridor even though the monorail provides the highest benefits it high cost ranks it
as the 3rd best choice after Bus Priority and a new railway line. As such the possibility of a new
electrified railway line needs to be examined from Fort possibly through Dematagoda. The
expressway option does not return favourable results. A bus priority project for Malabe road should
be considered as an immediate measure which can be implemented with much lower cost though
benefits are also less than the rail based options. Improvements on Malabe Road rank very high in
terms of reduction of system cost indicating that improvements to this corridor should be
considered as a priority over all other corridors.

B.3.1.5 Low Level Road

On the Low Level Road only the bus priority measure returns favourable results. Road widening also
does not show cost effective returns. However, the bus priority measure will require road widening
and would therefore have to be considered together and not in isolation. A railway line parallel to
the Low Level Road from Kelaniya to Dompe and to be extended to Kosgama is also viable and needs
to be verified for technical feasibility.

B.3.1.6 Kandy Road

On the Kandy Road the BRT, Monorail and railway electrification and modernization all returns high
benefits. The BRT ranks high given the lower cost followed by the railway modernization. The
monorail is the third choice. The urban expressway which is a testing of an urban expressway up to
Nittambuwa – not the proposed Northern (Central) Highway which has national importance, has
been tested and found to create more externalities than benefits and has thus been rejected for
2020.

B.3.1.7 Negombo Road

On the Negombo corridor railway electrification and modernization is the leading choice. The CKE
could be used to provide a Bus with High Level of service parallel to the Negombo Road.

B.3.2 Order of Importance of Improving Corridors

In terms of the impact of major corridors observed, the following order of improvements appears
most beneficial:

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  Malabe Road
 Galle Road
 High Level Road
 Horana
 Negombo Road
 Kandy Road
 Low Level Road

B.3.2.1 Development of Alternative Transport Networks

The Technical Appendix also provides a detailed analysis of the development of transport networks-
as against individual projects on different corridors. The objective is to assess which mode of
transport and combinations of transport development provides the best set of results. The
conclusions are as follows:

B.3.2.2 Bus Network Improvement

Bus related development or Bus with High Level of Service (BHLS) provides the best network
performance indicators of all other network developments. The best short term systems wide return
is to introduce a province based improvement of all bus operations in a simple intervention targeting
the increase of bus passenger travel from the current average door to door journey speed of 11
km/hr to minimum of 15 km/hr and preferably 20 km/hr. This measure will increase the bus
transport modal share from the anticipated estimate of 20% in 2020 (under a Do Nothing Scenario)
to 28%. This would mean that around 30 million passenger km have to be carried by bus. The fleet
requirement for an efficiently operated bus system where a single bus during an average 10 hour
operation per day, and carrying 8,000 passenger km would result in requiring only 4,000 to 5,000
buses which is just one half of the current fleet.

The total cost of modernizing a fleet of 4,000 buses by re-fleeting at a cost of Rs 20 million per unit,
fitting them with GPS technology and passenger information systems, developing demand based
timetables, cash less ticketing and province-wide route rationalisation management and regulatory
measures to make it a modern and state of the art system and other operational improvements at a
cost of Rs 10 million per retiring bus. The total cost is expected to be Rs 173 billion which includes
the cost of retiring older buses, buy backs of permits, employment retraining of redundant crew,.
The relatively lower cost and possibility of quick returns leads to this intervention being
recommended as an immediate short term project. Moreover all other public transport projects will
also benefit from improved bus speeds since the bus is an access mode to all of them. This single
improvement which will yield an annual benefit of Rs 241 billion benefit to the province and reduce
the transport cost as a % of GDP in 2020 from 19.6% to 14.6% sets out general bus operation
improvement as the most logical and priority action to obtain quick results to ensure that congestion
created by increasing motorization would be arrested early and for the negative impacts on growth
of the CMR to be mitigated quickly.

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In addition to general bus network improvement, 2 BRT Projects, the 4 Bus Priority Projects and
BHLS on the expressways totalling 269 km in length is considered for the short term since they are
relatively low cost and can be completed quickly.

The BRT services on Galle and Kandy corridors are combined and then split in to two routes between
(a) Moratuwa and Kadawatha via Fort and (b) Moratuwa and Kadawatha via Borella. Moratuwa and
Kadawatha are both TOD centres and multi modal centres are proposed there. The Bus Priority
recommended for (a) Malabe Road (from Pettah to Malabe); (b) Horana Road (from Pettah up to
Kahatuduwa Interchange) with the widening of Horana Road to 4 lanes; (c) High Level Road (from
Pettah up to Makandura Interchange with widening to 4 lanes) and (d) Low Level Road (from Pettah
up to Kaduwela with widening to 4 lanes) show the marginal improvement of each development. It
is seen that the overall improvements will reduce the transport cost as % of GDP to 12.3% by 2020
making the bus network development the most effective and most urgent intervention.

Short term developments proposed are to implement BHLS on all expressways including (a) Outer
Circular Road/Southern Highway; (b) Colombo Katunayake Expressway and (c) Central/Northern
Highway. These would include:

CKE:
 Negombo to Moratuwa via Baseline Road and Nugegoda (until Baseline Extension is
constructed)
 Airport to Panadura via Fort
OCH:
 Panadura to Battaramulla via the interchanges at Gelanigama and Kaduwela
 Panadura to Wattala via the interchanges at Gelanigama and Kadawatha
 Maharagama to Wattala via interchanges at Makandura, Kaduwela and Kadawatha

It also includes the development of similar services on two circular routes identified as (a) Inner Ring
Road and the Middle Ring Road under a medium term scenario and on the proposed Horana
Expressway in the long-term scenario.

The short term scenario also includes the development of the multi modal centres in Pettah MmTH,
the proposed MMC and also the park and ride systems making the total bus improvement cost of Rs
341 billion over the 20 years. The total modal share is expected to reach 36% for BHLS together with
bus priority on the major corridors and a further 13% for BRT and the bus services on the
expressways. The target bus modal share would then reach 50%.

B.3.2.3 Railway Network Improvement

In the case of the railway development it shows to be the second best overall improvement in terms
of cost savings and IRR, but costs more than the bus network development. In this case,
improvements for track, signalling, operations, customer service, frequency, reliability, security,
cashless fare collection and station improvements including improving access and park and ride

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options as suggested in the CoMTrans study are recommended for the following five priority
projects:

o Panadura-Veyangoda
o Ragama-Negombo
o Airport link (Katunayake South to Katunayake International Airport
o Makandura to Fort (KV trace)
o Fort to Maradana capacity improvement

The following new lines have also been included for consideration:
 New Line Dematagoda-Battaramulla
 New Line Battaramulla to Horana via Kottawa
 New Line from Panadura to Padukka via Horana
 Kelaniya to Kosgama via Dompe

The railway network development would cost Rs 443 billion and is therefore is split in this study to
the short, medium and long term. It is expected to carry up to 17% of the modal share by 2035.

B.3.2.4 Monorail Network Improvement

The monorail is not the best option for any of the corridors examined mostly due to the relatively
higher cost. The monorail should be considered in the short term only if the bus or rail
improvements recommended for the Malabe corridor cannot be implemented due to land
availability or any other issue. The monorail enters the recommendation mostly as a short distance
travel mode within the city. It is considered appropriate for city service between Borella (where it
will join the KV and proposed Battaramulla line as well as the Baseline BRT) and connect to Town
Hall via the National Hospital and proceed to serve Union Place, Slave Island, Fort, Pettah, Hultsdorp
and Kotahena. It could also be integrated with the new developments at Slave Island as well as the
Port City Project. Its extension across northern Colombo via Mattakkuliya to connect to Negombo
Road, CKE and Kandy Road before terminating at Kelaniya Railway station would provide a high
degree of access to north Colombo which has demonstrated comparatively low mobility and lower
economic opportunities. Therefore the monorail should remain as the long term development after
both railway and bus priority which costs much less is fully developed in the short and medium term.
The City Centre monorail alone would cost Rs 70 billion, while the total cost with the extension that
will be 17 km in total length will cost up to Rs 118 billion. Monorail is expected to carry around 1-2%
of the share of the travel in the CMR while its share within the city would be around 5%-10%.

B.3.2.5 Highway Network Development

In the case of highway development, road widening and new road projects do not return higher cost
network savings due to the fact that once road networks are fully saturated which is what is seen in
the Do Nothing Scenario in 2020, building new urban highways/expressways or even widening does
not result in any system wide improvement or reduction in traffic congestion. This means that even

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though the specific road being improved will have higher speeds, the impact that it has on the rest of
the road network and the transport system as a whole is proven to be negative.

In this respect the STRADA analysis clearly shows that road development is effective when it follows
public transport development or where public transport developments such as BRT or Bus Priority
are built in to such developments. The output of the STRADA model clearly demonstrates that none
of the urban road projects examined will reduce the transport costs in the CMR. Hence this study
recommends road improvements only where such can lead to either bus priority or a BRT as in the
following road projects recommended above for the study period:

 Central/Northern Expressway – from Kadawatha to Nittambuwa designed with facility for

Bus with Higher Level of Service (Assumed to be already awarded)
 Baseline Extension to Ratmalana
 Galle Road – new link between Marine Drive and Ratmalana for BRT
 Horana Road – widening to four lane up to Kahatuduwa for bus priority/BHLS
 High Level Road – widening to four lane up to Makandura for bus priority/BHLS
 Kandy Road – widening to six lanes up to Kadawatha for BRT
 Malabe Road – widening up to four lanes up to Malabe for Bus Priority/BHLS
 Port Link Road from New Kelani Bridge to MmTH and Port
 Horana Expressway from New Kelani Bridge to Kahatuduwa via Battaramulla and Pannipitiya

B.3.2.6 Ring Roads

This study proposes using the current Outer Circular Highway (OCH) and the Colombo Katunayake
Expressway (CKE) as an alternative for BHLS operations given that adequate capacity is available in
the short term. It is noted that a higher utilisation of the expressways for BHLS operations improves
the contribution of the expressways to reducing overall transport costs. In addition an Inner Ring
Road and a Middle Ring road as proposed in the CoMTrans Study.

Any required urban expressways should only be considered after 2020 when the intense level of
road congestion is reduced through public transport intensive projects together with TDM measures
to be discussed in the next section. The cost of these road works is identified to be around Rs 388
billion for the 20 year period.

B.3.2.7 Traffic Demand Management (TDM) Measures

Most cities implement TDM in order to reduce the growth of traffic so as to avoid congesting newly
build road facilities and city centres. This is therefore a complementary strategy if road building is to
be undertaken. Analysis clearly shows that considerable savings can be affected through Electronic
Road Pricing especially in the CMC area. Improving road capacity through traffic management
together with ERP can increase such benefits and is recommended as a combined project. This is
found to be the best strategy to reduce overall transport cost in the CMR. Combining ERP with bus
network development projects would provide the overall best returns for investment. However ERP

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may not be socially and politically possible unless alternate modes are fully developed in all
corridors. As such this may need to follow the development of at least one mode of public transport
on each corridor. TDM measure should also include parking management, cashless parking charging,
parking violation detection through CCTV, travel information revenues, etc. These have been fully
discussed in CoMTrans study. The cost of TDM and ERP to be implemented in two stages for CMC
area and the suburbs (Inner CMR) is expected to cost Rs 129 billion.

B.4 SEQUENCING DEVELOPMENT PROGRAMS (2015-2035)

The final round of analysis which investigates the implementing is given in Figure B-9 below. The
STRADA model was used to investigate the best combination of the modes of transport that were
found most suitable for each corridor and the network development discussed earlier. Based on
these, the following projects and programs have been selected for implementation in the three
stages for the planning horizons 2020, 2025 and 2035.

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 Figure B-9: Proposed Implementation of Development Projects and Programs

B.4.1 Short Term Proposals (2020)

B.4.1.1 Bus Network Development

BRT and bus priority was the most suitable corridor development for several corridors. Bus network
development had the highest rate of return for a single transport network development. The
corresponding routes to be developed are shown in Annex- Map 1. This confirms the approach of
developing the bus network as a first step of the master plan. This includes improving all bus services
within the CMR to provide a minimum door to door speed of 15 km/hr travel, plus the development

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of 4 bus priority/BHLS routes and 2 BRT services along the Galle and Kandy corridors. It also includes
a further 5 BRT/BHLS services using the OCH and CKE. The cost of this is estimated at Rs 301 billion.
This includes the cost of re-fleeting, compensation and modernising of all existing bus operations
including vehicles and terminals, bus stops and shelters as well as the road development costs for
the proposed BRT and Bus priority routes. This would also be accompanied by the following sector
development programs:
 Restructuring of bus regulatory and operating system
 Development of multi modal centres at each of the TOD centres namely in Pettah,
Moratuwa/Panadura, Makumbura/Kottawa, Kesbewa/Kahatuduwa, Kaduwela/Kotelawala,
Kadawatha and Ragama

B.4.1.2 Rail Network Development

The proposed 2020 multi modal transport network includes an urban railway electrification and
modernisation which provides the second best rate of return on investment. As a result three lines
are selected for modernisation together with improvement to the Fort-Maradana section. This is
shown in Annex Map 2 .The total cost for this network development for the short term is estimated
at Rs 197 billion.

B.4.1.3 Monorail Development

This is recommended if bus and rail based improvements cannot be implemented on the Malabe,
Corridor in the short term. It makes the monorail not the first but the alternate choice. It is however
recommended as a most suitable choice of transport for the City Centre. Consequently a line from
Borella to Kotahena has been recommended of 10 km length costing Rs 70 billion (Annex Map 3).
The line should be later extended to Kelaniya since it will be a most suitable mode of transport for
servicing the northern areas within the CMC which were found to have a large mobility deficit and
low trip rates.

B.4.1.4 Road Development

As shown in Figure B-10, six road projects required for BRT and Bus Priority/BHLS development are
recommended and tested in this scenario. No other urban road projects are recommended in the
short term. In addition the Central/Northern Highway up to Nittambuwa and the baseline extension
have been included since this project has been commissioned. These, without the Central Highway
will cost a total of Rs. 121 billion. This is shown in Annex Map 4

B.4.1.5 Traffic Demand Management and ERP

The TDM within the CMC area together with ERP is recommended in order to reduce congestion
within CMC and its corridors. This would include coordinated traffic control systems, ITS systems for
improving road traffic, parking controls, etc. This will include implementation of an ERP system at
the boundary of the CMC and at a further cordon around the core business areas including Fort,

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Pettah, Maradana, Slave Island, Town Hall and Galle Face. The cost of this is estimated at Rs 20
billion. This is shown in Annex Map 5;

B.4.1.6 Summary of Short Term Proposals

Figure B-10 illustrates all the proposals given above together with a summary of the STRADA output
for the above scenario and the length of new infrastructure proposed. The map shows the different
network development proposed to be completed by 2020. It shows that bus operating speeds will
improve to 15 km/hr while train speeds will increase to 32 km/hr and road speeds for private
vehicles will increase to 30 km/hr. The average cost of one person travelling one km in the CMR will
reduce to Rs 13 while the supply side intervention requires 234 km of bus priority lane/BHLS, 35 km
of BRT, 88 km of railway electrification and modernisation, 10 km of monorail, and 269 km of road
expansion, bus priority and new roads, 8 new transport terminals as well as entire modernisation of
the bus sector to achieve BHLS standard across the province. The 2013 modal share for trips by bus
and rail which was 38% was expected to drop to 24% by 2020 under a do-nothing scenario. As a
result of the short term investment proposed, this is expected to increase to 56% with 15% on
railway and 7% on BRT.

As shown in the Technical Appendix, the total short term investment adds up to Rs 638 billion. The
Net Present Value of the investment is estimated at Rs 5,910 billion at 6% discount rate and an
Internal Rate of Return (IRR) of 33%.

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Figure B-10: Multi Modal Transport Network Development 2020

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B.4.2 Medium-Term Proposal

B.4.2.1 BRT/BHLS on Ring Roads

In order to promote improve travel in the orbital direction, both the MRR and the IRR are
recommended for Bus Priority operations by 2025. The Kadawatha to Moratuwa BRT would also be
in part re-routed through Baseline. In addition the Northern/Central Expressway would also
accommodate a BHLS operation which will extend to Pettah Multi modal hub as proposed in
CoMTrans through the new link to the Port and MmTH. These are shown in Annex Map 6 These
would increase travel in the orbital direction further reducing the pressure on the city centre and
also encouraging the development of the ToD centres. The cost is estimated at Rs 16 billion.

B.4.2.2 Development of Railway KV Line

The KV line which needs engineering improvements and double tracking is recommended as a
medium term project. Besides this new lines between Dematagoda and Battaramulla as well as
between Kelaniya and Dompe have been proposed. The total cost is estimated at Rs 142 billion. This
is shown in Annex - Map 7.

B.4.2.3 Monorail Extension

In this scenario the monorail is extended to Kelaniya on the Kandy corridor from Kotahena (Annex
Map 8). The cost of this is Rs 49 billion.

B.4.2.4 Road Improvements

This scenario includes the road projects required for all the bus priority, BHLS and BRT projects
recommended herein. This includes:

 Middle Ring Road Widening for BHLS

 Inner Ring Road widening for BHLS
 Widening of Malabe road for BHLS
 Elevated 2 lane highway from Orugodawatte to Port and extension from Port to Pettah
MmTH with BHLS

These are shown in Annex – Map 9 and are estimated to cost Rs 92 billion.

B.4.2.5 Extension of TDM and ERP to outside of CMC

Where TDM with ERP is implemented in CMC area and extended to over the areas of Dehiwela, Mt
Lavinia, Borelesgamuwa, Kohuwela, Nugegoda, Rajagiriya and Battaramulla. The cost of this is
estimated at Rs 109 billion. This is shown in Annex - Map 10.

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B.4.2.6 Summary of Medium Term Proposals

Figure B-11 illustrates all the proposals given above for the medium term together with a summary
of the STRADA output for the above scenario and the length of new infrastructure proposed. The
map shows the different network development proposed to be completed by 2025. The average
cost of one person travelling one km in the CMR will further reduce to Rs 11 while the supply side
intervention requires 54 km of bus priority lane/BHLS, 60 km of railway electrification and
modernisation, 7 km of monorail, and 54 km of road widening and new roads for bus related
infrastructure. The total medium term investment adds up to Rs 451 billion. As shown in the
Technical Appendix, the Net Present Value of the investment is estimated at Rs 1,265 billion at 6%
discount rate and an Internal Rate of Return (IRR) of 23%.

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Figure B-11: Multi Modal Transport Network Development  2025

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B.4.3 Long Term (2035)

B.4.3.1 Bus Network Development

In this scenario with increase of orbital flows corresponding to the development of the TOD urban
centres and the CMR transforming to a multi-centric urban structure, the MRR and IRR are expected
to be developed as fully fledged BRTs with widening of roads to 6 lanes. In addition a BRT is
proposed on the Horana Expressway proposed in the CoMTrans. This is expected to cost of Rs 24
billion for the bus operations side improvements and required infrastructure. These are shown in
Annex Map 11.

B.4.3.2 Railway Development

Under this scenario, railway would also be developed for orbital flows with the construction of lines
between (a) Panadura and Horana (b) Horana to Padukka as well as (c) from Battaramulla to Horana.
This is estimated to cost Rs 159 billion and is shown in Annex Map 12.

B.4.3.3 Road Development

Urban expressways may be considered given that the urban travel speeds have improved through
public transport measures and urban expressways with the required level of ERP would reduce the
overall transport costs further. There would be an expressway from Orugodawatte via Battaramulla
to Kahatuduwa interchange. The cost of this together with the cost of developing the orbital MRR
and IRR ring roads for 6 lane is estimated at Rs 176 billion. These are shown in Annex Map 13

B.4.3.4 Summary of Long Term Proposals

The long term proposal for all transport networks is shown in Figure B-12. This shows that the total
network to be developed from 2025 to 2035 would comprise:

 Bus Priority Lanes/BHLS -72 km

 New Railways – 64 km
 Road development -44 km

Figure B-12 illustrates all the proposals given above for the long term together with a summary of
the STRADA output for the above scenario and the length of new infrastructure proposed. The map
shows the different network development proposed to be completed by 2035. The average cost of
one person travelling one km in the CMR will remain between Rs 11 and Rs 12. The total long term
investment adds up to Rs 394 billion. The Net Present Value of the investment is estimated at Rs 0
billion at 6% discount rate and thus the Internal Rate of Return (IRR) is 6%.

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Figure B-12: Multimodal Transport Network Development  2035

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B.5 RECOMMENDED LIST OF TRANSPORT PROGRAMS (2015-2035)

The implementation program for each of the planning horizons recommended in this study, are
given in Table B-6. A program is defined as the collection of projects for the development of a
particular mode of transport and its network. As such programs are identified under (a) bus sector;
(b) railway (c) monorail; (d) road and (e) TDM and ERP developments

Table B-6: Programs Recommended for each Planning Period

2020

Project
Scenario Year Rank Mode Cost Rs
bn

5.1.1 2020 2 Bus Sector Development 301

5.1.2 2020 3 Railway Development 197
5.1.3 2020 4 Monorail Development 70
5.1.4 2020 5 Road Development 120
5.1.5 2020 1 TDM/ERP 20
Sub Total Cost 708
Inter Modal Development 10% 71
Total 779
NPV 5,910
IRR 33
2025
Project
Scenario Year Rank Mode Cost Rs
bn
5.2.1 2025 1 Bus Sector Development 18
5.2.2 2025 3 Railway Development 142
5.2.3 2025 4 Monorail Development 49
5.2.4 2025 5 Road Development 91
5.2.5 2025 2 TDM/ERP 109
Sub Total Cost 410
Inter Modal Development 10% 41
Total 451
NPV 1,265
IRR 23
2035
Project
Scenario Year Rank Mode Cost Rs
bn
5.3.1 2035 1 Bus Sector Development 24
5.3.2 2035 2 Railway Development 158
5.3.3 2035 Monorail Development -
5.3.4 2035 3 Road Development 176
5.3.5 2035 TDM/ERP -
Sub Total Cost 358
Inter Modal Development 10% 36
Total 394
NPV 1,265
IRR 23
Grand Total 1,624

This shows that an estimated capital total of Rs 1,624 billion is required for the entire program.

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B.5.1 Allocation for Inter-Modal Development

A standing allocation of 10% of the capital funding in any year should be provided for overall sector
development which includes multi modal features that include safety, integration, databases,
planning , operational subsidies, feasibilities, environmental mitigatory actions, institutional capacity
building in planning, modernisation, non-motorised facilities, etc as these functions which usually
do not get adequate funding. As shown above, the amount for the period 2015 to 2020 would be Rs
71 bn. This amount can also be used for operational cross subsidise such as un-remunerative public
transport services such as school services, feeder services to low density areas, late night services
etc.

Alternately a 1% of the total transport fuel cost of the CMR could be made available for this purpose.
Public transport revenues could also be included to make it comprehensive. This amount for the
period from 2015 to 2035 would be equal to around Rs 148 billion or Rs 7.5 billion per year.

B.5.2 Capital Investment Requirement of Development Program

The summary of this investment program identified by each sub-sector and each planning horizon is
shown below in Table B-7. The summary cost shows that the total of the UoM Study Proposal is
comparable with the CoMTrans study estimated of Rs 2,147.9 billion. However unlike in the case of
the CoMTrans study investment portfolio which allocates Rs 1,389.9 billion comprising over 80% of
the investment to roads especially urban expressways, in the UoM study proposal and subsequently
in this Masterplan, this investment is spread across all modes of transport with buses and Bus and
BRT getting 21%, railway 31%, monorail 7% and roads 24%. This investment breakdown reflects (a)
that this investment is a public transport intensive development and (b) that it will support the
development of multi modal transport network in the CMR.

Table B-7: Financial Cost of Projects and Potential Sources of Financing

Investment Cost (Rs billion)

Public Potential
2015 to 2020 to 2025 to Total Rs % by % Private Potential Sources
Sector Investment Source Private
2020 2025 2035 bn Sector Investment Public Investment
Rs bn Investment

Bus 300.7 18.1 24.2 343.1 21% 80% 68.6 Multi lateral IFC/Local/PPP
Rail 197.4 142.2 158.0 497.6 31% 20% 398.0 Multi lateral, Bilateral FDI/PPP
Monorail 69.6 48.7 0.0 118.3 7% 60% 47.3 JICA FDI/PPP
Urban Roads 120.5 91.5 176.1 388.1 24% 60% 155.2 Multi lateral IFC/PPP
TDM/ERP 19.8 109.2 0.0 129.0 8% 50% 64.5 Multi lateral, Bilateral FDI/PPP
Sector Dev 70.8 41.0 35.8 147.6 9% 0% 147.6 Multi lateral, Bilateral -
TOTAL 778.8 450.7 394.1 1,623.6 881.3

It is recommended that of the above the entire cost of bus improvement expenditure be financed by
government. In the case of railway and also monorail most of this would also have to be from state
sector. In the case of roads, a portion of investments could be obtained from private sector since toll
collection is estimated as being likely to be higher than operating and maintenance costs and
operating surpluses are likely. The estimated total public sector investment is Rs 881 billion or

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around Rs 44 billion per year for the 20 year period. Table B-7 also shows suggestions for financing
based on initial discussion held with financing institutions.

B.5.3 Financing Recurrent Costs of Development Program

Under the above scenario all bus operations including the BRT as well as bus priority could be priced
close to cost recovery. This can be achieved since even at present private sector recovers costs in a
highly inefficient industry platform. If the capital investment is provided by Government which will
improve efficiency and the current density of demand can be maintained, then bus service can be
commercially profitable. Hence no financial commitment for operation & maintenance (O&M) is
required. The estimated operational expenditure per year for the different modes is given below.

Table B-8: Vehicle Operating Costs by Mode by Cost and Year

Vehicle Operating Cost (Rs billion)

Sector 2020 2025 2035 Total
Bus 38.3 52.7 71.9 162.8
Rail 16.0 26.5 38.0 80.6
Monorail 0.4 1.9 2.9 5.3
Public Tr 54.7 81.1 112.8 248.7
Roads 14.4 16.1 22.5 53.1
Pr.Vehicles 233.5 242.1 339.6 815.3
TDM/ERP 0.2 0.4 0.8 1.4
Private 248.1 258.7 363.0 869.7
TOTAL 302.9 339.8 475.8 1,118.4

The above table demonstrates that the vehicle operating cost of private transport could constitute
over 80% of the total operational cost of the entire transport system. As shown above, the total
vehicle operating cost of the different transport networks in the CMR is expected to increase from Rs
302.9 billion in 2015 to Rs 475.8 billion in 2035. Under the proposed development scenario this
appears an extremely satisfactory situation given that population is assumed to increase by 20% and
a 6.5% per annum growth rate is provided for in these estimates.

Table B-9: Annual Estimated Revenues from Public Transport at Current Fares

Revenue (Rs bn p.a)

Sector 2020 2025 2035
Bus 32.0 44.7 62.4
Rail 11.4 19.0 27.2
Monorail 0.3 1.1 1.8
Public Tr 43.7 64.8 91.3

Table B-10 above shows the total revenue from public transport operations for each of the planning
horizons based on the current rates of Rs 2 per km for bus and railway based on a 10 km trip length

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and Rs 3 per km for monorail operations. BRT is also priced at the same fare as regular buses. The
Table B-10 given below shows the gap between this revenue collected by the modes of public
transport and the operating costs.

Table B-10: Cross Subsidy Requirement to Maintain Zero O&M Subsidy by Government at Current
Fares

Cross Subsidy Levels for Zero O&M Burden for State

(Rs billion p.a.)
Sector 2020 2025 2035 Total
Bus (6.3) (8.0) (9.5) (23.7)
Rail (4.6) (7.6) (10.9) (23.0)
Monorail (0.2) (0.8) (1.2) (2.1)
Public Tr (11.1) (16.3) (21.5) (48.9)
Roads -
Pr.Vehicles 11.1 16.3 21.5 48.9
Private 11.1 16.3 21.5 48.9
TOTAL - - - -

% cross subsidy 4.5 6.3 5.9 5.6

It is found that the shortfall in 2020 is Rs 11.1 billion or around 24% of the revenue from public
transport operations. The largest percentage shortfall is in monorail at nearly 60%. As shown in
Table B-10 the shortfall increases to Rs 21.5 billion by 2035. The shortfall as a % of total transport
network cost ranges from 4.5% in 2020 to 5.9% in 2035 which is a relatively small cost taking the
total transport cost.

There are several methods of bridging this shortfall which includes:

 Raising public transport fares to reach the breakeven for each mode. In this case, bus fares
have to be raised by approximately 38%, train fares by 65% and monorail fares priced 94%
above current average fare of Rs 1.70 per km in real terms. With the proposed higher level
of service and at higher incomes the bus fare increase in real costs required is just 2% per
year.
 An alternate method is to raise this through a tax on use of private vehicles. This would
require a road user tax of Rs 1.06 on average per vehicle km travelled within the CMR on
average for each vehicle km. ERP could also be used to recover this in certain areas. It could
also be recovered through revenue licenses and fuel taxes as is done currently.
 A combined method of raising funds partly from private user costs and partly through a
direct public transport subsidy representing the benefit to the commerce in the CMR levied
through land taxes or turnover.

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B.6 RECOMMENDATIONS FOR INSTITUTIONAL DEVELOPMENT

The recommendations for Institutional Developments are discussed in this chapter under the
following headings:

 Policy Interventions
 Setup an Integrated Urban Transport Planning mechanism

B.6.1 Policy Interventions

A specific and explicit urban transport policy is required as the cornerstone of implementing the
CMR Transport Masterplan. This is a foremost activity that should lay the required legal, institutional
and financing framework for implementing this plan. This becomes most important given the current
fragmented nature of transport administration and responsibility. It also becomes an important
action arising from lessons learnt from past transport plans and studies and the inaction that has
followed due to lack of clear policy directive and administrative capacity.

This policy should have firm legal status in order for the different governments and agencies working
in transport and associated sectors to integrate their work according to a plan. The policy should
centre on the intensive public transport approach since the transport situation in the CMR has
exceeded the level wherein road building can satisfactorily cope with the rate of motorization and
mobility that is anticipated over the next two decades.

The specific policy features recommended in the UoM Study are:

o The Masterplan should be based on an intensive public transit development policy until 2025
after which a mixed development policy should prevail unless revision of Masterplan requires
the intensive public transit policy to continue.
o Under the intensive public transport policy there would be:
 The immediate and priority reformation of the current bus operations by replacing all
state and private sector buses operating in the CMR with modern vehicles, reducing
fleet size through voluntary and/or re-compensated corporatisation of operations, route
rationalising, demand based time tabling, GPS and vehicle location systems, cashless
ticketing, improved terminals and hubs, improved bus crew management and
restructuring bus regulatory institutions.
 Development of BRT services on a priority basis on the routes recommended
 Widening of major roads and new urban roads to include public transport priority as
appropriate such as BRT,BHLS or Bus Priority projects
 Modernization of the railways on the routes recommended together with improved
stations and electrification, cashless ticketing, improved operations and transfer to bus
with park and ride facilities.
 Integration of railway stations with access modes and development of multi modal
transit centres in the urban centres selected as Transit Oriented Development (TOD)

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 centres which are; Colombo, Moratuwa (and/or Panadura), Kesbewa/Kahathuduwa,
Kottawa/Makumbura, Kaduwela/Kotelawala, Kadawatha, Ragama
o The above improvements will be accompanied by traffic restraint measures such as limiting
parking, electronic road pricing in CMC area.
o Development of public space and facilities for non motorised travel in city centres.
o Development of Monorail on corridors where railway cannot be modernised.
o Electronic Road Pricing to follow after alternate public transport modes are fully developed.

It is recommended that Cabinet approval be sought to implement the above as Policy.

B.6.2 Set up Mechanism for Integrated Urban Transport Planning & Development

This study observes that different transport studies over the last several years have made
consistently good recommendations for improving transport in the CMR. However, only a small
fraction of these have been implemented. Regular changes to transport administration, lack of
continuity in planning processes, lack of long term investment plans, interventions on political
consideration and lack of professionalism and professionally developed plans, inadequate sector
knowledge among decision makers appointed to key positions are observed as the primary reasons
for the regression in transport network development in the CMR.

There have been few interventionist actions over many decades with most administration content
on managing the status quo. This has prevented the modernisation of the urban transport system in
the CMR and the increasing dependence of individual transport as a default position when the public
are left to provide their own transport solutions. Moreover this has given rise to the lack of
coordination between road, railway and bus transport development and its management to be done
in isolation without understanding the interdependence and complementarily of the different
modes which is a fundamental attribute for transport and urban development.

The following transport sector institutional intervention is recommended:

 Setup a Colombo Metro Urban Transport Development Cell (CoMTraD Cell) within UDA
 Reconstitute the Inter-Ministerial Committee for the Coordinated Policy and Planning of
Transport (IMCCPPT)
 Create a single Ministry for Transport & Highways
 Capacity Building of all Transport Sector Institutions

B.6.3 Setup a Colombo Metro Urban Transport Development Cell (CoMTraD Cell) within UDA

The UoM Study observes that when operations and planning are handled by the same ministry there
is a pre-occupation with the day to day operational activities and urgencies and the long term
planning and integrated development is neglected. In India the Ministry of Urban Development
undertakes this as the complex nature of development in urban areas is beyond the scope of the
ministries handling transport which is often devolved to lower levels of government.

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As such it is proposed that a cell should be set for the purpose of owning the CMR Transport
Masterplan, to revise it as required in line with urban development requirements and master plans
of other development institutions specifically in the highways sector. This cell will also be
responsible for conducting feasibility studies for large scale urban transport projects. It will conduct
such studies in close consultation of all relevant agencies, investigate funding requirements and will
hand over such projects for implementation including the detail designs, to the respective line
agency through the ministry in charge of that agency.

This cell which could be called the Colombo Metro Urban Transport Development Cell (CoMTraD
Cell) would be physically located within the UDA and set up under gazette notification under UDA
Act and should be constituted by a Board of Directors or Board of Management as is appropriate
constituted as follows:

Ex-Officio
 A senior officer responsible for Planning, not below the rank of Director from the Ministry of
Internal Transport or an agency under the ministry as appointed by the Secretary to that
Ministry.
 A senior officer responsible for Planning, not below the rank of Director from the Ministry of
Highways or an agency under the ministry as appointed by the Secretary to that Ministry.
 A senior officer not below the rank of Director from the Ministry of Urban Development or
an agency under the ministry as appointed by the Secretary to that Ministry.
 A senior officer not below the rank of Director from the Ministry in charge of the subject of
Provincial Councils or an agency under the ministry as appointed by the Secretary to that
Ministry.
Nominated
 A professional in transport with at least 10 years of experience in urban transport planning,
nominated by the Chartered Institute of Transport & Logistics, Sri Lanka
 A professional in urban planning with at least 10 years of experience in urban development
nominated by the Institute of Town Planners, Sri Lanka.
 A professional in highways with at least 10 years of experience in highway planning,
nominated by the Institute of Engineers, Sri Lanka.

The CoMTraD Cell will function as follows:

 The members shall be appointed for a period of 3 years and will usually not have more than
3 members replaced within one calendar year. Members may serve for any period of time
provided that any such appointment is only made one year after the end of a previous term
of office.
 The chairmanship of the Board shall be by rotation among the members and usually for a
period of one year.

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  The Urban Development Authority will receive and release all funds required by the Cell. The
UDA will assist the Cell to raise its finances from funding agencies and through Treasury
allocations as required.
 The UDA will appoint suitable officers to the Cell including a Director drawn as senior officers
seconded from agencies of the Ministries in charge of the subject of transport, highways and
urban development.

The UDA will where necessary also appoint officers suitably qualified and experienced in the fields of
transport, highways and urban planning

Min. of Min. of Min. of Urban Min. of Urban

Internal Highways Development Development
Transport

Agencies
Agencies Agencies Agencies
SLR/NTC/SLTB
RDA UDA PRTA/PRDA/
MC

CoMTraD

Ce

CELL

Appointment of Board Members || Recommended Projects for Implementation

Administrative Authority || Administrative Accountability

Seconded Experts || Project Teams || Steering Committees

Figure B-13 : Functioning of the Proposed CoMTraD Cell

The recommendations of the Cell when approved formally shall be made to the Secretaries of the
four stakeholder ministries together with an action plan to be followed by the responding
ministry/ministries.

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Similar Cells made by set up for different metropolitan regions. The following are also recommended
as function of the CoMTrad Cells:

1. Gazette the Metropolitan Transport Masterplan in a Urban Development Plan

Each metropolitan transport plan shall be gazetted under the UDA Act either as a separate transport
plan or as an integrated urban development plan as is appropriate. The CoMTraD cell will be
required to update such transport plans every five years and have such revised plans gazetted from
time to time.

o The transport Masterplan for the CMR will be a public document that will be available for
developers to make investment decisions.
o All major urban development activities will be legally required to be fully integrated to the
guidelines of the transport Masterplan. The UDA and other approving agencies should at all time
be guided by the Transport Masterplan

2. Funding for Implementing Transport Projects

o Public funds required for the implementation of any project recommended for implementation
under the Masterplan will be included under the vote of the ministry implementing the project
and prioritised over a long-term investment framework agreed with the Ministry of Finance and
Ministry of Planning.
o For projects where private funding or public private partnerships are possible, the respective line
ministry will engage in negotiations based on the recommendations received from the CoMTraD
cell.

B.6.4 Reconstitute the Inter-Ministerial Committee for Coordinated Policy and Planning of
Transport (IMCCPPT)

In order to implement a public transport intensive policy there should be a strong national policy
and planning coordination mechanism in addition to the CoMTraD Cell which will be confirmed to
coordinating the work of planning and implementing development work in transport nationally.

As such it is recommended to create a legislated Inter-Ministerial Committee for Coordinated Policy

& Planning of Transport (IMCCPPT) with rotational chairs among the different ministries. The IMTCC
should be required to meet regularly and be set up under the National Transport Commission Act
which is empowered to formulate national transport policy. In this respect a committee that met
under the Ministry of Transport for many years called Inter-Ministerial Committee for the
Coordination of Transport (IMCCPT) could be revived with more legislated power and functions.

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B.6.5 A Single Ministry for Transport & Highways

It is also recommended that the function of highway and transport of the Government of Sri Lanka
which are now in two separate ministries (until January in three ministries) should be amalgamated
to one ministry in future.

B.6.6 General Institutional Capacity Building

All existing agencies should be internally restructured to be modern transport sector agencies and
made to reflect the following:
 High professional competency either through training of existing staff and/or entry of new
graduates capable of high level transport planning, operations and management.
 Outsource non-core activities so that agencies remain lean, agile, manageable and capable
of delivering the required leadership of the industry.
 Make all services and information easily accessible to public with as many service made
available through the internet.
 Create an integrated transport database under the NTC and outsource the regular update
and maintenance of this.
 Streamline the regulation of bus services and expand the scope of the NTC to cover freight
transport and other modes of passenger transport including private motor transport as and
where necessary.
 Agencies such as the Sri Lanka Railways and the SLTB to be given full commercial powers to
compete with other modes of transport.
 To reach a clear understanding of the division of responsibilities between government
agencies and provincial agencies with respect to regulation of bus and other road passenger
transport modes.

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ANNEXTURE– MAPS SHOWING PROPOSED
DEVELOPMENTS

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Map 1: Bus Network Development 2020 (Scenario 5.1.1)

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Map 2: Rail Network Development 2020 (Scenario 5.1.2)

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Map 3: Monorail Network Development 2020 (Scenario 5.1.3)

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Map 4: Road Network Development 2020 (Scenario 5.1.4)

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Map 5: Multi Modal Transport Network Development 2020 (Scenario
5.1.5)

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Map 6: Bus Network Development 2025 (Scenario 5.2.1)

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Map 7: Railway Network Development 2025 (Scenario 5.2.2)

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Map 8: Monorail Network Development 2025 (Scenario 5.2.3)

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Map 9: Road Network Development 2025 (Scenario 5.2.4)

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Map 10: Multi Modal Transport Network Development 2025(Scenario
5.2.5)

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Map 11: Bus Network Development 2035 (Scenario 5.3.1)

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Map 12: Railway Network Development 2035 (Scenario 5.3.2)

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Map 13: Road Network Development 2035 (Scenario 5.3.4)

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Map 14: Multimodal Transport Network Development 2035 (Scenario
5.3.5)

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