The Sri Lankan government has suspended the delivery of 17 locomotive trains from India after one vehicle broke down abruptly last week. The incident has caused the government to seriously question the quality of the Indian made hardware. The first of the batch stopped in its tracks and was delayed by over two hours during one of the first runs from the country’s south to the capital. Transport Minister Kumara Welgama has called for an investigation into the incident and has suspended the order saying that public funds could not be wasted on spurious purchases. Indian diplomats have not yet responded to the minister’s decision to cancel the US$167 million (INR753.8 crore) contract should trains turn out to be unsuitable.
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