Sri Lankan Railways – Everything that you need to know

Sri Lankan railways are Sri Lanka’s most economic transportation mode as well as the best way to explore the beauty of Sri Lanka. You can read everything about Sri Lankan railways from this article.

Complete Train timetable

History of the Sri Lankan railway

Sri Lankan Transportation

Sri Lanka is an island located in the Indian Ocean closer to the southern tip of India and north of the Equator. The written history of this tropical island dates back to the arrival of King Vijaya in Sri Lanka. The written history of Sri Lanka describes how the kingdoms evolved over the years and the foreign invasions caused the change in the long-established ruling cities. During the ancient kingdom of Anuradhapura major monasteries were established for Buddhist monks. Such monasteries stood as the major institutions of education until the fall of the kingdom due to invasions from South India.

The shift of Kingdoms happened from the North Central part of the country to the South West region of the Island and Kandy became the major ruling city of the kings. This was the period when the British arrived in Sri Lanka and established their ruling in the coastal areas of the country by defeating the Dutch who ruled the coastal areas of the country before.

Sri Lanka Colonized by Britain

Later British expanded their ruling towards hill country and in 1815 Sri Lanka officially became a colony of Great Britain. After the 1815 agreement, the British Government introduced trade crops to the hill country areas of the island, and with time plantation flourished. In 1830 an important event took place in the history of world transportation in Manchester England. On 15^th September 1830, the first major commercial railway track was opened between Liverpool and Manchester. With the expanding popularity of this new vehicle on rails, British colonial rulers also became interested in establishing railways in colonies.

Reason to form railways in Sri Lanka

The major commercial city of Colombo was away from the hill country where the major part of the coffee plantation existed and it took weeks to transport the coffee bean harvest from the hill country and by the time the carts reached Colombo the harvest was destroyed due to its exposure to the inclement weather conditions that are common in the island.

British rules in India had already started the operating of railways by this time and investors and planters in Sri Lanka felt the need for a quicker and safer mode of transportation and railways seemed to be the matching Solution for their raising need. Investors continuously demanded a railway system from the British Government.

The Ceylon Railway Company

At this time there were investors who were willing to invest in railway companies and the planter’s need in Sri Lanka set the ground for the establishment of a company to start railways in Sri Lanka. As a result of these events, a company called “The Ceylon Railway Company was established in London in 1845 October and the capital of the company was 1,000,000 pounds consisting of 20000 shares of 50 pounds each.

The start of the railways got delayed due to the dismal economic condition and the mutiny situation that prevailed on the Island. After establishing the company a special inaugural ceremony was organized for the cutting of the first sod for the railways in the country. This event took place on the 3^rd of August 1858 with the participation of the Ceylon (as Sri Lanka was called then) British Governor Sir Henry ward along with other dignitaries.

By 1860 routes were proposed for the laying of railway tracks from Colombo to Kandy and these routes seemed impossible and more costly than the initially estimated cost. By 1860 the acting agent of the company Mr.G.l.Molesworth who was an engineer proposed a route via “Dekinda “  which ran along the north bank of the “ Maha Oya”, “Rambukkana” from there to the “Kadugannawa” incline via “Alagalla” mountain at the cost of 1.4 million Pounds.

The company started to fill the lands to construct the railway and the fillings were completed until “Mahara” and this was a difficult task due to the wet fields and cost was continuously increased. This resulted in several arguments between the company and the British Government. As a result, the company steps down from construction and this led to the dissolution of the company. As result the British government took the construction to their hands and tenders were called in 1862 and 6 tenders were received. The contract to build the railways was awarded to Mr.W.F.Faviell whose tender was for 873,039 Pounds.

The first train ride from Colombo to Ambepussa

The initial phase of the construction became less difficult because the company and already done the filling up to “Mahara”. The laborers in Sri Lanka had no prior experience in constructing railways. Hence laborers were brought from “Bombay” (present Mumbai) and the engineers and administrators were brought from England. The two most difficult tasks of the construction from Colombo to Abepussa were the construction of a steel bridge over the “Kelani “river and the tunnel No. 01 at 132^nd Milepost near “Ambeypussa”.

In January 1864 the first steam engine arrived in Ceylon. This steam was manufactured by the Stephenson Company in England. By the end of 1864, Mr.Feveill managed to construct a railway line capable of running a train from Colombo to Ambeypussa. On 27^th December 1864, a special train carrying the prince of Belgium Duke Brabant ran from Veyangoda to Abeypussa and from Abeypussa back to Colombo. This run became the first train ran in the history of Sri Lanka Railways.

First train accident in Sri Lanka

In 1865 the first major accident occurred in the country at the place today called by the name “Enderamulla”. On 14^th January 1865, which was the labor wage day, the trolley in which the money arrived for the wages was parked near the track. After the first train run in Ceylon, the tracks need to be filled with ballast and the ballast train arrived with 16 wagons and engine hit the trolley parked near the track which caused the wagons to derail and 14 wagons drowned in the near wetland costing lives of 36 people. This is known as the “Gongithota Disaster” among residents in the area.

In 1865 the Colombo terminus station was constructed near Maradana technical college and the track was opened for the public on 2^nd October 1865 from Colombo Terminus station to Ambeypussa. BY 1866 the track was extended up to Polgahwela and due to the efforts of the laborers, contractors managed to complete the track up to Kandy by 1867. On 30^th April 1867, a special train with the British Dignitaries ran to Kandy to show the safety of the track that was constructed along precipices and through tunnels. Between Rambukkana to Kadugannawa, the construction of the line became an enormous task as the track in this part constructed with an angle of one foot for 44 feet and initially had 10 tunnels, and later two more tunnels were added due to the deviation of the track for safety purposes.

A special five arch viaduct was constructed near Alagalla and this Viaduct was destroyed by landslips. After track reached Kandy the planters could finally transport their coffee harvest to Colombo. Unfortunately, blight hit the coffee plantation in Sri Lanka and almost ended the large-scale manufacturing of coffee. The British government introduced the substitute of tea to replace the destroyed coffee plantations.

By 1870 more steam engines were imported from British Companies including Stephenson, Beyer Peacock, and Kitson. By 1871 the British Government expanded the track to Gampola and Nawalapitiya. Tenders to construct the line were called in June 1871 and the contract was awarded to the Red & Michael Company. The construction smoothly took place as the land from Peradeniya to Gampola was not difficult to construct a railway line and as a result, the track was completed 8 months before the contract agreed on date. This part of the track was opened to the public on 1^st January 1873 and goods transportation commenced on 1^st February 1873.

In the 19^th century, another major construction occurred in Ceylon. This was the construction of the Colombo Harbor water breaker. A special siding from Ragama was constructed to a quarry located in Mahara and another track was constructed from the Colombo terminus that reached the Colombo harbor along the Baire lake bank at the present Presidential Secretarial office.

This was basically the look into the history of the establishment of railways in Sri Lanka and its evolution. The track was further expanded from the Gampola to its current terminus Badulla in 1924. This track is referred to as the Main Line in Sri Lanka Railways.

Apart from the line from Colombo to Badulla which is the mainline the railway network in Sri Lanka consists/consisted of the following railway tracks.

1. The coastal line
2. The Mathale Brach line
3. The Narrow-gauge Udupusselawa railway (closed in 1941)
4. Northern line
5. The Thlaimannar railway line
6. The Batticaloa and Trincomalee lines
7. Puttalam line
8. The Kelani valley narrow gauge railway line
9. The Mihinthale Line

 

The coastal line

By 1870 many major commercial instructions were established near Colombo and daily many people traveled from the southern part of the country to Colombo for daily work. The British Government identified the need for a better transportation system for the people in the south. On 9^th January 1875 tenders were called to construct a line from Colombo to Moratuwa.

The tender was offered to the Francis Dosan Michael Lanka engineering company. The government provided rails and sleepers required for the construction.

This line was constructed avoiding the Galle Face area which is a resting place for people in Colombo and the line was completed on 01^st September 1877. This line was further expanded to Kaluthara in 1879 and this track eventually reached Matara in 1890. After 129 years of the completion of the track to Matara, this track was expanded up to Beliatta in April 2019.

 

2.  Mathale Branch line

Mathale area also flourished from the coffee plantations and planters in the area continuously demanded a railway line to Mathale. The colonial government obtained a loan for 275,000 pounds and the construction was offered to David Reed Company and the construction began in 1880 and the line was completely constructed 8 months prior to the agreed date in the agreement. The only major construction in this line was the steel bridge over the Mahaveli river in Kaugasthota.

This line was completed with normal weight and all kinds of steam engines were run on this line at the time of the construction.

3. The Narrow Gauge Udupusselawa railway line.

Nuwara Eliya became a resting place for many people in the country due to the cold climate in the area and the British more preferred the area due to the close climate conditions in England. Back in 1903 also, this area was famous for holiday visits. Many tea plantations were located in the area and this prompted the planters to demand a railway track to Nuwara Eliya.

In 1895 planters presented their request to the British governor Sir West Ridgway who visited Nuwara Eliya. The proposed railway track was 2.6 feet track to meet the steep gradients of the proposed route and the 6-mile distance from Nanuoya (A station in the main railway line from Colombo to Badulla) to Nuwara Eliya was completed on 14 December 1903 and the track was further extended to Kandapola and Ragala towns. At Kandapola town the railway track reached the highest point a railway track reached in Sri Lanka 6316 feet from the mean sea level.

A special narrow-gauge Bayer Garret steam engine No.293 (Class H1) was used in the line. This route became uneconomical due to the popularity and cost-effectiveness of other transportation modes.  On 09^th January 1940, the passenger trains came to hold.

4. North line (Polgahawela to Kankasanthurai)

The British governor Henry Gregory made a visit in the North area of the country and realized the poor living conditions of the people living in the North area of the country. This urged the British Government to construct a railway to the North area of the country.In1887 a commission was established to report on the viability of a railway track to the North. After realizing that the land area of the north is not difficult to construct a railway line the commission proposed a broad gauge track up to Anuradhapura and a narrow-gauge track from thereon.

On 24^th October 1892, the construction of the first phase of the line started from Polgahawela railway station up to Kurunegala. The construction of the line was completed in 1894 and the track was opened for passengers on 14^th February 1894. The track beyond Kurunegala was completed up to Kankasanthurai and this track basically linked the North and south of the country.

However, by the end of 1970’s the civil war conflict of Sri Lanka started to emerge and by 1983 the situation in the north got worse and the LTTE established their ruling in the north, and the train services from Colombo to North came to a permanent halt and the track beyond Vavuniya railway station was remove by the LTTE and stations were blasted. After the end of the civil war conflict in 2009, this track was constructed again by the Indian Ircon company.

5. Thalaimannar Railway line

After the establishment of the tea plantations in the hill country, the British Government employed south Indian Laborers for the work and the British Government needed a cost-effective method to transport laborers from South India to Sri Lanka. In 1903a commission was established to report on the railway track from Sri Lanka to India. This led to the construction of a special railway line that linked India and Sri Lanka.  The commission proposed track was started from the Medawachchiya railway station located in the north railway line and the track was basically constructed across the jungle and this track reached the tip of the Mannar Island  Thalaimannar. A pier was constructed at the Thalaimannar point for the train to reach the passenger boat from India.

As a result tickets to stations in India could be purchased from stations in Sri Lanka and the track became popular among people who visited India on pilgrims. As the civil war hit the Northern area o the country and the Indo Ceylon boat service came to an end this track was also removed by the LTTE and the major bridges along the track were blasted by the LTTE. After the end of the civil war ended in 2009, this track was constructed again but the boat service between India and Sri Lanka does not operate.

The above image shows the separation of two railway lines North line on the right and the Thalaimannar line on the left.

6. Trincomalee and Batticaloa Lines

In 1920 British considered the possibility of a railway track to the eastern area of the country. The track to the eastern province started from Mahawa railway station and a single track of lightweight was laid until Galoya railway station where the two lines to Trincomalee and Batticaloa were separated. From Galoya station the Trincomalee railway track was laid across two major national parks Kaudulla and Somawathiya. The part of the track was surrounded by the jungle swarming with wild elephants. This track linked Kanthale and terminated at Trincomalee. The Batticaloa line was also laid across the national parks of Habarana and Minneriya. The 2^nd longest railway bridge in Sri Lanka was constructed on this line in Manampitiya over the Mahaveli River.

The above image shows two lines left Trincomalee line and on right the Batticaloa line.

7. Puttalam railway line.

Puttalam railway line was laid close to the coastal areas towards the north of Colombo. The track is completed in the following phases.

• 9^th November 1908 up to Ja Ela
• In 1910 from Jae la to Negambo

By the end of 1926, the track was completed up to Puttalam. With world war two in the 1940 s this track was partly dismantled and the materials were used in more needed lines in the country. After the independence in 1948, the track was constructed again up to Puttalam and to a limestone quarry located in Aruwakkalu. A limestone train owned by a private company runs from this quarry to a cement factory in Palavi until today.

Image – J.U.Matagorda

Limestone from Aruwakkalu to Pallavi near Puttalam railway station.

8 Kelani Valley narrow gauge line

The planters in the areas of Rathnapura and Yatiyanthota areas were demanding for a track to transport their harvest. The commission report suggested a narrow-gauge line to suit the bends in this track. The first phase of 37 miles the track was completed up to Avissawella in 1902 and s sub-track was laid from Avissawella to Yatiyanthota in 1903. By 1919 the track reached the Openayake town which was the terminus of the track and the line was mainly used to transport tea and rubber.

In the 1940s the Yatiyanthota branch line was closed and in the 1976s the track from Openayake to Avissawella was removed. In the 1990s this track was converted to a mixed gauge and at present, the line operates as a broad gauge.

Image – J.U.Managoda

Abandoned Karawanella railway station in Yatiyanthota railway line

Image – J.U.managoda

Abandoned Getahetta Railway Station 

10. Mihinthale Railway line

This is a 13 km distance railway track constructed in 1993 for the Buddhist pilgrims to visit the ancient city of Mihinthale. This line only operates once a year for the Poson Festival to mark the arrival of Arahatha Thero Mihindu in Sri Lanka.

Image J.U. Managoda

The start of the Mihinthale railway line

Brand name trains in Sri Lanka Railways

There are trains that popular by name in Sri Lanka railways. These names have become a brand among railway passengers in Sri Lanka where the name of the train itself reminds the culture and geographical conditions that are unique to the train’s destined route. At present following trains are popular by their name among the general public and even songs and rich literature is built around certain trains.

1. Yal Devi – The Lady of North ( Galkissa to Kankasanthurai – North Line)
2. Udarata Menike – The kandyan lady  ( Colombo to Badulla –  Main line)
3. Ruhunu Kumari – The lady of the South (Colombo to Beliatta – Coastal Line)
4. Podi Menike – The little Kandyan lady ( Colombo to Badulla – Main Line )
5. Senkadagala Menike – The Kandyan Lady  (Colombo to Kandy)
6. Tikiri Menike – The “tikiri’ lady (Colombo to Nanuoya – Main Line)
7. Galu Kumari – Princess of Galle ( Coastal Line)
8. Samudra Devi – The Lady of the Ocean(Coastal Line)
9. Sagarika – A feminine name gives the meaning of Ocean (Coastal Line)
10. Udaya Devi – (Batticaloa Line)
11. Pulathisi – An ancient name of the present Polonnaruwa (Batticaloa Line)
12. Dakshina – Southen(Coastal Line)
13. Uthhara Devi – The lady of the North(North Line)
14. Shri Devi – (North Line)
15. Muthu Kumari – The pearl princess(Puttalam Line)
16. Rajarata Rajini – The queen of the north (North Line)
17. Meenagaya – The singing Fish (Batticaloa Line)
18. Denuwara Menike – (Main Line)

Above trains have become a part of the life of the railway passengers and railway enthusiasts in the country. From all of the above trains following three trains have the richest culture and literature around them. They are,

1. Ruhunu Kumari
2. Yal devi
3. Udarata Menike

 Ruhunu Kumari

In 1955 the General Motors of Canada provided Sri Lanka with 05 diesel locomotives under the Colombo Plan. To pay the gratitude these engines were named after the provinces in Canada. By the mid of 1955 the then General Manager of Sri Lanka Railways  B.D.Rampala decided to operate a new express train named “Ruhunu Kumari” to the southern reign of the country.

This train started on 24^th October 1955 and the train consisted of 10 newly manufactured wagons and consisted of first, second, and economical class carriages along with a buffet and parcel carriage. This train has become a popular office train among coastal line passengers and at present Diesel, Multiple Unit trains are used for this train.

Yal Devi and Udarata Menike

With the popularity of the Ruhunu Kumari Train, the railway department of Sri Lanka proposed another two trains to the North Line and Main Line. Those two trains named Yal Devi and Udarata Menike. Yal Devi train ran from Colombo Fort to Kankasathurai initially but the civil war conflict terminated the train services to Vavuniya for nearly 25 years. After the reconstruction of the line, Yal Devi again runs to Kankasanthurai from 2014 onwards.

Udarata Menike train runs from Colombo Fort to Badulla. This train was provided with special observation carriages attached at the end of the train and from 2012 onwards Diesel Multiple Units are used for this train.

 

Locomotives of Sri Lanka

The first steam engine arrived in Sri Lanka in 1864 named Leopold manufactured by the Stephenson Company in Britain. Since the first train ran on December 1864, the railway department of Sri Lanka used a wide range of steam and Diesel locomotives and Diesel multiple units.

1. Broad and Narrow gauge steam engines
2. Steam rail cars
3. Broad and Narrow gauge diesel Locomotives
4. Diesel Multiple Units

Classes of steam Locomotives used in Sri Lanka

A wide range of steam locomotives was used in Sri Lanka and based on the reclassification in 1937 following major classes were introduced for the classification of the steam engines.

1. A1, A2 – Banking duty steams with 4-8-0 wheel arrangement
2. A3 – Light steam engines used in Batticaloa and Trincomalee Light Railway.
3. B1 to B6 – Nanuoya class. Engines in this class were named after the Governors of Ceylon and become the Governor class.
4. C1 – These class reserved for the broad gauge Beyer Garrets
5. H1 – The narrow gauge Beyer Garret used in Udu Pusselawa Line
6. J1, J2 – Narrow Gauge tanks used in the Kelani Valley railway with 4-6-4 wheel arrangement
7. K1 – Small KV narrow-gauge tanks
8. L 1 – Narrow Gauge tank locomotives used in Udu Pusselawa Line
9. R, V – R broad gauge steam rail cars and V narrow gauge rail cars.

Image from Kelland collection

Image from – Akila Aiyapperuma collection

Image owner – J.U.Managoda

Broad and Narrow Gauge Diesel Locomotives

The major classes of broad and narrow gauge locomotives are as follows.

1. G – Diesel-electric shunting locos
2. M – Diesel electric main – line locos
3. N – Diesel-hydraulic narrow gauge locos
4. P – Diesel mechanical narrow gauge locos
5. S – Diesel power coaches – (Except S1)
6. T – Diesel Railcars
7. W – Diesel-hydraulic mainline locos
8. Y – Diesel-hydraulic shunting locos

Class G1 500

This is the first diesel locomotive that arrived in Sri Lanka. In the 1930 s with the establishment of the Rathmanalana locomotive workshop, the need for a shunting engine for use in the workshop emerged. To meet this requirement it was decided to import a shunting engine manufactured by the Armstrong Whitworth Company in England in 1934. This engine was in use for shunting purposes until 2005-2006 and this is preserved in the Kadugannawa railway museum.

 

Image – J.U.Managoda.

Class M locomotives

At present, the most used type of locomotives in Sri Lanka Railways is class M locomotives. Class M locomotives range from class M 1 imported from 1953 to 1956 to class M 11 imported in 2018

Class – M 1

Manufactured by the Brush Bagnall company in England and a total number of 25 locomotives from this class were brought to Sri Lanka from 1953 to 1956 and at present, all the locomotives are out from service, and locomotive No. 560 is preserved in Kadugannawa railway museum.

Class M 1 – 590 preserved at Kadugannawa Railway Museum.

Class M – 2

Sri Lanka received the first 05 engines of class M 2 engines as a part of the Colombo Plan project with Canada in 1955. These engines were manufactured by General Motors in Canada. As a gratitude 12 of this fleet of engines were named after the provinces in Canada. A few of the names are as follows.

M 2 – 569 – Ontario

M 2 – 570 – Alberta

M2A – 591 –Manitoba

M2B – 594 – Prince Edward Island

M2C – 626 – Montreal

All the engines in the Class M 2 fleet are in use today except M2 – 571 Saskatchewan which was destroyed by an LTTE bomb and M2A 594 Manitoba was almost destroyed by the Tsunami disaster in 2004 but it was restored and put back to the service. Class M2 is known as the most successful diesel class engine in the railway department.

M2A New Brunswick 593 at Moragollagama railway station      Image J.U.Managoda

Class M 4

Class M4 engines also manufactured by the MLW Bombardier Canada and brought to Sri Lanka in 1975. Total numbers of 14 engines are in operation named after rivers, waterfalls, and important cities on Island.

Class M4 – 744 Sigiri (Rock fortress in Sri Lanka) between Madhuroad and Cheddikulam in Thalaimannar Line.

Class W – Diesel Hydraulic engines

Class W1 diesel-hydraulic class engines brought to Sri Lanka in 1969 manufactured by the Henschel – Thyssen in Germany and is the largest fleet of engines brought to Sri Lanka with 45 locomotives in this class. Most of these engines were put out of service and few engines were rehabilitated and engineered and renamed as W3. Class W 2 engines were brought to Sri Lanka in 1969 and most of these engines are also now not in service.

 

Class W 3 673 engine with Tikiri Menike express in Peradeniya Junction  Image. J.U.Managoda.

Narrow Gauge Diesel Engines

Class N 1

These engines were used in the Kaleny Valley railway manufactured by the Krupp Company in Germany. 5 engines numbered 564 to 568 were brought to Sri Lanka in 1953.

Class N 2

These engines were manufactured by the Kawasaki Japan and brought to Sri Lanka in 1973 to be used in one of the intended plywood factories in Kelani Valley Railway. But the factory was never opened and added to the SLR stock. Numbered from 730 to 732 and 732 is preserved in the Kadugannawa railway museum.

Class P1

These engines were manufactured by the Hunslet Company in England four of these engines were brought to Sri Lanka in 1950 numbered from 527 to 530. Engine no 527 was later used to operate a pleasure train in Viharamahadevi Park.

Class N2 732 preserved at kadugannawa railway Museum

Image – J.U.Managoda.

Diesel multiple units

Diesel multiple units are classified as class s. Diesel multiple units are classified from S1 to S14. The first fleet of diesel multiple units arrived in Sri Lanka in 1938. These units were manufactured by the English Electric Company Ltd. These were initially classified as D1, D2 & D3 and reclassified as class S1.

At present following diesel, multiple units are in service.

1. Class S 05
2. Class S 08
3. Class S 09
4. Class S 10
5. Class S 11
6. Class S 12
7. Class S 13
8. Class S 14

From the above classes, Class S08, 09, 10 are used for daily passenger office trains and Class S 11 & Class S 12 are used in both office and long-distance travel trains. Classes S 13 & S14 are only used in long-distance travel trains. Class S 05 Manufactured by Hitachi Japan mainly used for specially reserved travels. Classes S1, S2, S3, S4, S6 & S7 are no longer in service.

Class S 09 858 at Ragama Junction

Image – J.U.Managoda

Class S – 13 968 in North Line

Image – J.U.Managoda

Class – S 08 running Mihinthale Poson Special Train

Image – J.U.Managoda