Sri Lankan railway union strike leaves several commuters stranded

11 Jul 2024 CW Team

A railway union strike halted most train services across Sri Lanka on July 10, left tens of thousands of passengers stranded or crammed into the few overcrowded trains that continued to operate. The strike, initiated by the Station Masters' Union, was called to demand the filling of vacancies and the resolution of other administrative issues. Hundreds of scheduled train journeys were cancelled due to the strike, resulting in the few operational trains being dangerously packed with commuters. Local TV stations broadcast images of people risking their lives to reach school and work, clinging precariously to the sides of the trains and balancing on rain-slicked footboards. Transport Minister Bandula Gunawardena condemned the strike, criticising the union for taking what he described as arbitrary action while the government was already addressing their concerns. During a similar strike in September, two passengers lost their lives while traveling on overcrowded trains: one was struck on the head by an overhead railway bridge while riding on the roof of a train, and the other fell from a footboard and succumbed to his injuries. Sri Lanka's train services have long been plagued by substandard conditions, including poorly maintained compartments and tracks, largely due to years of mismanagement and lack of proper planning. Frequent and sudden strikes have only worsened the situation, causing significant delays for most train services. (Source: ET)

Real Estate

30 Jul 2026

AI: The New Recruit

From getting ideas to evaluating designs, presenting concepts to clients and tracking projects, artificial intelligence (AI) is helping architects work better and faster.“AI allows architects to spend more time doing what only they can do: think critically, synthesise complexity and design with intent,” says Dikshu C Kukreja, Managing Principal, CP Kukreja Architects. “Every minute reclaimed from repetitive processes can be invested in creativity, contextual understanding, interdisciplinary collaboration and innovation – the qualities that define meaningful architecture.”To read the ..

Redevelopment 2.0

In 2017, Mumbai identified 160,000 ageing buildings due for structural audit. Close to half of these were in the Western Suburbs. Redeveloping the oldest and structurally weakest of these would help unlock new housing, much needed given the city’s growing population density and constant developed area of 437.7 sq km. At 30,600 people per sq km in 2024, Mumbai’s density was almost thrice that of Gurugram, and 60 per cent higher than Bengaluru’s.Essentially, Mumbai’s realty market has demand. It has capital. It has realty development potential.Fast forward to 2026. Mumbai has 1,094 regis..

Cost intelligence will become a strategic contributor to project success

As India's construction industry accelerates its digital transformation, integrated platforms, AI and connected data are becoming essential to improving cost certainty, project efficiency and sustainability. Ravi Kumar, Sales Director – India, RIB Software India, shares how digital workflows are reshaping project planning, commercial management and decision-making across the construction value chain.India's construction sector is embracing digital technologies at an unprecedented pace. From your perspective, what are the biggest shifts driving this transformation and how is RIB Software enab..