An engineering perspective of railways

Eng (Prof) Amal Kumarage

Even though the railways is a subject close to my heart and my professional interest, I did not have the privilege of knowing or associating with this man who to many Sri Lankans was the heart of the railways. As a schoolboy in the 1960s who used the train when going home for the weekend to the upcountry, I grew up knowing that the name Rampala meant Railways and Railways meant Rampala – alas that is all that I knew at that time. Later in my professional career it was evident it meant much more to many people who had associated with this great man. But it was not until a few days ago, when armed with a few books and articles on the railways and Rampala, I sat down to study the man and his work in whose honour I had been asked to deliver this lecture.

It did not take me long to come to grips with this compelling personality about whom many people had shared their experiences over the years. But the more I read, the more I was convinced that what had been written and said surely was not enough. Even though all of what I have gathered about Eng Rampala is second hand, it is with much honour that I wish to share a little of his life I have come to know, realizing with a tinge of regret that I wish to share a little of his life I have come to know, realizing with a tinge of regret that I should have either met or at least read of the life and work of this man earlier in my own life and career.

Bamunuarachchige Don Rampala was born on November 14, 1910 and grew up at his ancestral home in Moraketiya junction, Pannipitiya. He received his education initially at the Anglo Vernacular Mixed School, Kottawa and after which he went to Nalanda College, Colombo and completed his Senior Cambridge Examination at Ananda College. According to Ranjith Dissanayake who is researching material for his forthcoming book on ‘Ceylon Government Railway – Golden Era of B D Rampala and the Way Forward’, Rampala entered the Colombo University College where he completed his examinations in Pure Mathematics Applied Mathematics and Physics. After a few months training in the Police Department he joined the Ratmalana Railway Mechanical Engineering Department of the then Ceylon Government Railway (presently the Sri Lanka Railways) as a Special Apprentice in 1931. He sat and passed the Bachelor of Science Degree of the University of London as an external candidate in 1933. He then went on to qualify as an engineer through private study by obtaining the Associate Membership of the Institution of Mechanical Engineers in October 1935.

Eng B D Rampala rose to the position of Chief Mechanical Engineer and then to become the second Ceylonese (as we were known then) General Manager of Railways in 1955 at the age of 45 years, a position he was to hold for 14 years up until his retirement thus becoming the GMR with the second longest term of office. Eng Rampala was elected the President of the Institution of Engineers of Sri Lanka (IESL) in 1958, an important year for transport.

It was the year of nationalization of the bus industry and exactly 100 years after the construction of the railways in Ceylon was inaugurated by Governor on August 3, 1858. He was also instrumental in establishing the Ceylon Transport Board along with Vere de Mel and served in other statutory boards such as the State Trading Corporation and the State Hardware Corporation.

As I read about Eng B D Rampala I was struck by the relevance of this man's example for today, not just for the railways but for transport and engineering and in fact for all Sri Lanka. He was an engineer par excellence. But he was also a planner, a designer, a builder, a leader, a mentor and above all a servant of the people. Today it is common to think these are all specialist skills and traits to be found in different departments and in different people. But in Rampala it becomes obvious they were all rolled into one man.

In fact I may be guilty of subverting the title of my lecture to pay more attention to the man in whose honour I speak tonight. As such the title of this lecture may well be changed to ‘The example of the life and work of Eng B D Rampala for the present and future of the Railways and of Engineering in Sri Lanka'. Whatever the actual title of my lecture should be, what I wish to talk about today are the key attributes I am convinced are strong motivational examples for the engineers, planners and managers of today and of tomorrow.

First, I observe that Eng B D Rampala was a professional of immense integrity and aptitude

Many examples have been written of Rampala who reputedly had the capacity to fix any problem he was faced with at any time, be it technical, operational, administrative, financial or in management of people. It was not merely positive thinking that got these done, nor was it that he had powerful political connections that gave him added advantages. But it seems to be the combination of knowledge, experience and a strong commitment to serve the people through his office.

His strengths appear to be his thorough knowledge of the workings of the railway, the commitment to practice what he had learned (what I call professionalism) and a reckless abandonment of a caution on innovation and development for the common good. He comes across as a professional leader who had the capacity to lead his people and the organization towards serving the people it stood for.

He was truly a railway-man and one cannot find evidence that he was in anyone's pocket or a puppet on anyone's string. He stood his ground on the strength of his professional views and competencies. His reputation spread even abroad and in 1956, the Institution of Locomotive Engineers in London recognized Eng Rampala as the Best Diesel Engineer East of the Suez. He did not need any political support to get appointed or for survival therein or to provide insurance for any incompetency.

He did not seek promotions or appointments by request and neither did he align himself to any power political or otherwise for popularity or protection. Such administrators and even engineers in State institutions are a rare entity today. Sadly this is a need of our times for engineers of integrity to stand up to lead and to protect the practice of engineering and the organizations they represent.

The collapse of engineering leadership in the Railways seems to have begun soon after Rampala's retirement as GMR. Perhaps it was the political response to ensure a more subservient institutional head that the next GMR was appointed from the Sri Lanka Administrative Service (SLAS) with an Additional General Manager to assist him in technical matters. This even led to a very capable AGM (Technical) to retire prematurely from the railways and thus the mentoring and succession of engineering leadership of an engineering institution was broken never to be fully restored.

Eng A R P Wijesekera recollects a news headline in 1977 which stated 'The trains are running to time, the stations are clean, Rampala is back! It was true that Rampala was back in the Ministry of Transport, but only as a consultant 7 years after retirement. Wijesekera a former Mechanical Engineer and later President of IESL in 1980, however notes that 'his tenure was short lived as there was now no place for Rampala or others of his ilk'. So sadly, in just a few short years the very organization that he led for 15 years and the ministry could not properly accommodate his contributions. Things had changed even in the space of 7 years. Sadly the tide still keeps coming in an goes out with each passing change of political administration. Each tide keeps eroding the pristine procedures and practices that were in place before Rampala's time which were the pillars on which he practised his engineering and on which the CGR was built.

Today these engineering processes that were initially instituted by our colonial masters are being dismantled in full public view. While the purpose of these processes when first instituted could be questioned, they were useful to ensure organizations serve the task they are set up for. They are to ensure that transparency and accountability are built into the core processes of each organization.

To be continued

[Eng B D Rampala memorial lecture]

The nineth Eng B D Rampala annual memorial lecture organized by the Institution of Engineers, Sri Lanka (IESL), was held at the Wimalasurendra auditorium of the institution on December 20. It was on the theme An Engineering perspective of the past, present and future of railways delivered by Eng (Prof) Amal Kumarage, Senior Professor of Civil Engineering, Department of Transport and Logistics Management, University of Moratuwa.