From the Editor Vol. 45(1)

The first Expressway in Sri Lanka was declared open recently, connecting the financial capital with southern towns of Sri Lanka. Known as the Southern Expressway (E01), the already commissioned first stage spans close to 100 km with eight interchanges. With the speed limit stipulated at 100 km/h, which is about 25% higher than comparable expressways of other countries in the region, destination transit times are reduced by more than 50% as compared to other routes. While the gain through reduced transit times is presently confined mainly to commuters, advantage of this rapid transit facility in true sense could only be derived by directing value addition to economic activities. For speedy economic development of a country, ability for rapid transit of people and goods becomes a prerequisite with the mode of transport being an important parameter. As the preferred means, land transport mode has to be looked at in terms of social and economic view points. In this sense, road based transport has to be weighed against rail based, for mass rapid transit, which naturally would tend to present more economy in the latter from a holistic view point. Therefore, while developing the road sector, it is necessary for the country to concentrate on establishing an efficient rail network linking major economic centres.