• Experts say a new Galagedera route could cut Colombo–Kandy travel to 90 minutes
• Calls grow to rethink rail planning beyond hill country
• New lines to Dambulla, Habarana, Puttalam flagged as strategic alternatives 

For more than 150 years, the train journey to Kandy has been defined by nostalgia and limited speed, often operating as a scenic crawl up a steep 1:45 gradient engineered by the British in the 1860s.

Today, with the upcountry line severed by the devastating landslides caused by Cyclone Ditwah, Sri Lanka stands at a crossroads.

The Government’s immediate instinct is to repair what was lost. However, a coalition of leading transport experts and engineers is urging policymakers to pause and rethink. Their message is clear: not to patch up a Victorian-era relic, but to seize this disaster as a wake-up call to build a modern, high-speed rail corridor that could cut travel time from Colombo to Kandy to under 90 minutes.

The proposal, championed by the Sri Lanka Society for Transport and Logistics (SLSTL) and the Institution of Engineers Sri Lanka (IESL), offers a radical alternative to the current ‘build back better’ approach. These critics argue that the existing strategy focuses too heavily on foreign loans and restoration, rather than genuine modernisation.

The Galagedara trace 

The debate centres on the structural limitations of the existing Main Line. According to the SLSTL, the current alignment was selected in 1862 primarily for cost reasons, despite known limitations even at the time. The resulting track, with its sharp curves and steep climb, restricts train speeds and capacity, turning the 120 km journey into a three-hour ordeal.

“The recent landslides at Pahala Kadugannawa underscore the fragility of this stretch,” the SLSTL noted. “This is not just an infrastructure crisis, but a wake-up call to rethink our approach to railway planning and resilience.”

The experts propose shifting traffic to a new Galagedara trace, a route identified by engineers as early as 1846 but never built. This alignment would run from Rambukkana to Katugastota and Kandy via the Galagedara Pass. Alternatively, a Pattiagedera trace via the Yattewera Oya valley has also been suggested.

Former General Manager of Sri Lanka Railways Eng. Priyal De Silva, who led the rapid recovery of the railway following the 2004 tsunami, explained the technical advantages of this shift. “Those routes have much milder gradients than the present 1 in 45,” De Silva told The Sunday Morning. “We can run it at a gradient of maybe 1 in 80 or 1 in 90, and we can increase the speed.”

The impact of such a change would be transformative, he stressed, noting: “We can actually go from Colombo to Kandy on that particular route in maybe 90 minutes.”

The SLSTL estimates that the new double-track corridor could accommodate up to 50 trains a day – more than double the current capacity of around 20 – and serve as a competitive alternative to the heavily congested Kandy road network.

Alternative development proposals

The call for developmental change is not limited to the Kandy line. Former Secretary to the Ministry of Transport and University of Colombo Department of Economics Prof. Lalithasiri Gunaruwan argued that the reconstruction period offered a rare opportunity to rethink the logic of the entire network.

Speaking to The Sunday Morning, he highlighted the proposed Kurunegala-Dambulla-Habarana line as a strategic necessity. “If you construct the Kurunegala-Dambulla-Habarana railway line, half the load on the existing Kurunegala-Maho track will be offloaded,” he said.

Prof. Gunaruwan explained that trains bound for Trincomalee and Batticaloa could be diverted to this new line, significantly reducing congestion on the main northern artery and eliminating the immediate need to double-track the difficult Kurunegala-Maho section.

He also pointed to the long-discussed but never-implemented proposal to connect the Maho line to Puttalam for coal transport. “Connecting Maho to Puttalam for coal transport is also a proposal,” Prof. Gunaruwan noted, urging the Government to consider alternative routes that could be less risky and more profitable than simply rebuilding old lines.

Proposals for speed upgrades, new trains

While experts focus on new routes, the Department of Railways is concentrating its immediate efforts on restoring and upgrading existing lines, particularly in the north.

Sri Lanka Railways Media Spokesperson Asanka Samarasinghe told The Sunday Morning that the department’s priorities were closely tied to Indian grant-funded projects. “Under the Indian grant, we have decided to reconstruct the rail tracks from Maho to Kankesanthurai and from Medawachchiya to Mannar,” Samarasinghe said.

He clarified that previous repairs were temporary patchwork measures to restore basic connectivity. “Now we are completely restoring the rail tracks properly; we have already commenced this task,” he said, adding that speed was the primary objective.

“In the north, the tracks were constructed for trains to operate at speeds of 100 km/h, but these were destroyed by Cyclone Ditwah,” Samarasinghe explained. “We want to rebuild them to the same standard and achieve those speeds across the network.” 

He said the new designs prioritised both speed and resilience. “We need to ensure the tracks can sustain higher speeds and also withstand future disasters,” he added. The project, funded by approximately $ 5 million under the Indian grant, is expected to be completed within three months. 

Samarasinghe also revealed plans to modernise rolling stock separately from infrastructure upgrades. “There is a plan to procure five new trains,” he said. “These trains will be faster and better, considering technological improvements.” 

He firmly ruled out privatisation as part of the reform agenda, asserting: “There is currently no discussion on privatisation.”

Financing the ‘railway renaissance’

The financing structure for the Department of Railways differs from the general reconstruction budget. 

Senior Additional Secretary to the President for Finance and Economic Affairs G.M.R.D. Aponsu, speaking to The Sunday Morning, noted that India had extended $ 350 million as a loan and $ 100 million as a grant. “The grant component is being used for construction of the northern railway line,” Aponsu said.

The loan component, he explained, was earmarked for capital-intensive infrastructure such as railway bridges, as well as potential future expansions towards Batticaloa and upgrades to the Colombo-Kandy and Kandy-Matale routes.  

Meanwhile, Department of National Planning Director General K.T.I. Premarathna cautioned that railway reconstruction would be a long-term undertaking. “If you take railway reconstruction work, it will likely continue until around 2028,” he said, noting that the scale of work extended well beyond the 2026 Budget cycle.

Aponsu also highlighted improvements to signalling systems, often overshadowed by track construction. “Earlier, signalling facilities were limited. Now there will be improved signalling across the railway lines,” he said.

Foreign consultants vs. local expertise

A key point of contention is the reliance on foreign consultants over local engineering expertise. Prof. Gunaruwan questioned the logic of outsourcing design, contracting, and certification, charging: “If everything is done by outsiders, why do you need engineers in the Railways Department? You could just have a clerk.” 

He contrasted this with the 2004 tsunami recovery, when local engineers restored the coastal line to Matara within 56 days without foreign consultancy. Eng. De Silva echoed these concerns, pointing to the Way and Works Sub-Department as the entity that should be leading the effort. “At present, the Way and Works Sub-Department is taking a back seat. It should be steering this, but it is not,” he said.

However, Samarasinghe acknowledged that Indian-funded projects came with Indian oversight, but said that no decision had been made yet on foreign consultants for the upcountry line. He also said he was unaware of any formal offers of assistance from local experts. “If any Sri Lankan has offered help, we are not aware of such discussions,” he said, suggesting they may not have reached operational levels.

Eng. De Silva said that he remained willing to support the Government but had received little response.  

Mobilising non-financial resources

In a notable development, Aponsu said that the Rebuilding Sri Lanka initiative allowed for non-financial contributions. “It is not only financial assistance; non-financial assistance is also accepted,” he said, adding that this included land, equipment, materials, and professional skills.

“Some individuals have already donated land,” Aponsu said, noting that land acquisition was often a major bottleneck in infrastructure projects. 

A fork in the track

On one side, Sri Lanka Railways is pursuing Indian-funded restoration, aiming to restore speeds of 100 km/h on existing alignments while introducing new trains. On the other hand, experts are urging a strategic pivot – abandoning patchwork repairs in the hill country and building a faster, safer route to Kandy.

The SLSTL warned that failing to act now would be a generational mistake. “This is not just about repairing what was lost, but about building something better,” it said. 

For Eng. De Silva, the issue is confidence in local expertise. “There is no point spending money training engineers if we do not use them,” he said. “That is not happening today in Sri Lanka.”

As assessments continue and credit lines are finalised, the Government faces a choice – rebuild a 19th century railway or lay the tracks for the 21st.