Utilising Global Strategic Models to Formulate a Rail Freight Strategy for Sri Lanka

Abstract

Rail freight in Sri Lanka is declining substantially in all respects of volume, mode share, financial performance, and service quality, which are severely lag far behind international standards. This dire situation calls for a complete reformation of the rail freight system from its inception. Moreover, the issue of overcrowded roads increases the urgency for an improved alternate mode of freight transportation. Accordingly, this research investigates a rail freight strategy for Sri Lanka, using a global strategic model to align the Sri Lankan railway with international standards. The strategy formulation model is a pre-designed multiplicative regression framework, crafted through insights gleaned from a comprehensive global analysis of strategies employed by different nations for revitalising the sector. This model was selected following a rigorous examination of available frameworks identified through a thorough literature survey. Finally, our application of the model to the Sri Lankan context suggests various strategic measures that could be taken to optimise the performance of the Sri Lanka Rail freight industry and its ability to conform to global standards. These measures span policy, business operating structure and operations of Sri Lanka rail.

Keywords

• freight railway
• strategic model
• global learning
• revitalize
• policy