• Fort-KKS train operations to halt temporarily due to A’pura-Maho railway renovation 

The Anuradhapura-Omanthai stretch of the Northern Railway Line was reopened for public transport train operations yesterday (13) following the completion of renovations on the track, the Sri Lanka Railways Department said.

Air-conditioned luxury carriages were included in the test run, with the train reaching speeds of 100 kilometres (km) per hour, Transport Minister Dr. Bandula Gunawardana stated.

As the authorities began upgrading the tracks in January this year (2023), this stretch of the railway track remained closed for the past six months with train operations between Anuradhapura and Omanthai being suspended. 

The upgrading of the railway tracks is handled by India’s State-run Indian Railway Construction International, under an Indian credit line of $ 91.27 million. Under the first phase of this project, a stretch of 48 km on the railway line from Anuradhapura to Vavuniya was renovated, and subsequently, a stretch of 31 km up to Omanthai was upgraded. Following the reopening of the Anuradhapura-Omanthai stretch of the railway line, train operations to Kankesanthurai (KKS) will return to normalcy, the department noted.

However, it is reported that the renovations of the stretch of railway tracks between Anuradhapura and Maho are planned to commence soon, resulting in a temporary halt of train operations between Colombo Fort and Kankesanthurai until the completion of the upgrade.