The railway department informs train drivers to report to duty immediately.

The Department of Railways this evening informed all train drivers on strike in writing to report for work immediately as the Sri Lanka Railway has been declared an essential service by the President. President Ranil Wickremesinghe issued an extraordinary gazette notification making the railway service an essential service after considering the inconvenience faced by commuters due to the train drivers' strike. The department said the services of railway employees will be suspended if they fail to report for duty following the declaration of train services as an essential service. Due to the strike carried out by the train drivers on the basis of a problem related to promotions, train operations were severely disrupted, and many train journeys were cancelled.