Sri Lanka Railways

Beginnings

1880 steam-powered train on the hill-country Colombo-Badulla line

Railway lines near Colombo in 1940

The rail network was introduced by the British colonial government in 1864. The main reason for building a railway system in Ceylon was to transport tea and coffee from the hill country to Colombo. The service began with a 54-kilometre (34 mi) main line connecting Colombo and Ambepussa.^[4] Guilford Lindsey Molesworth, the first chief engineer, became director general of the government railway. Many Ceylonese people referred to the trains as Anguru Kaka Wathura Bibi Colaba Duwana Yakada Yaka^[5] ("coal-eating, water-drinking, sprinting to colombo, metal devils").

Extensions were made to the main line in 1867, 1874, 1885, 1894 and 1924, extending it to Kandy, Nawalapitiya, Nanu Oya, Bandarawela and Badulla.^[6] Other lines were added to the Ceylon Railway System during its first century, including an 1880 line to Matale, the 1895 Coast Railway Line, the 1905 Northern Line, the 1914 Mannar Line, the 1919 Kelani Valley Line, the 1926 Puttalam Line and the 1928 Railway Line to Batticaloa and Trincomalee. For more than 80 years afterwards,^[7] no major extensions were added to the Ceylonese rail network.

Golden age

The golden age of Ceylon Railways was from 1955 to 1970 under the management of B. D. Rampala, chief mechanical engineer and later general manager of the Ceylon Government Railway.^[5] Emphasising puctuality and comfort, Rampala led upgrades to major railway stations outside Colombo and the rebuilding of track in the Eastern Province to facilitate heavier, faster trains. He introduced express trains (many of which had iconic names), and ensured that Ceylon's rail system was up-to-date and offered greater comfort to its passengers.^[5][8]

Until 1953, Ceylon's railways used steam locomotives. During its golden age, they changed to diesel locomotives under Rampala's leadership;^[8] several types of diesel locomotives were added to the fleet.

Decline

During the late 20th century, the railway began to decline; for three decades, it was neglected and poorly run.^[9] The Sri Lankan economy had shifted its focus from plantation agriculture to industry, and its road network grew. With the increase in lorries and highways (a faster means of transporting goods) the amount of goods transported by rail declined, and the railways experienced heavy losses.

SLR failed to adopt technological innovations seen in other railways abroad, and problems with travel time, reliability and comfort caused it to lose much of its passenger market share. By 2011, it had a seven-percent share of the market.^[5]

Rebirth

New S12 DMUs were imported in 2012.

The government began a 10-year Railway Development Strategy to return the network to satisfactory condition in the early 2010s, ordering new DMUs to replace current trains.^[5][9][10] The southern line, which was damaged in the 2004 tsunami, was upgraded from 2010 to 2012. Its track was upgraded to handle train speeds of 100 km/h (62 mph).^[11] The northern line, affected by almost three decades of war, is being rebuilt; in 2015, it was restored to Jaffna and Kankesanturai at pre-war levels.^[12] The southern line is being extended from Matara to Kataragama to serve the developing city of Hambantota.^[7] In 2015, track construction to Beliaththa was seriously delayed. In 2011, Sri Lanka Railways began partnerships with ExpoRail and Rajadhani Express for premium service on major routes.^[13][14]

Train types

• Intercity express: Among the fastest trains, with few stops (have to get special tickets for these; ticket prices are higher than normal ones)
• Night mail: Night-time express trains with freight transport
• Express: Link Colombo and major transport hubs
• Suburban: Stop at each station on the route

Routes and major services

Scenery along the hill-country Badulla-Colombo line

SLR divides its network into three operating regions, based in Colombo Maradana, Nawalapitya and Anuradhapura.^[23] Nine lines make up the railway network. Several services were named during the 1950s.

Finances

Sri Lanka Railways regularly incurs large financial losses^[24] and has not made a profit since 1943. In May 2007 the railway earned about three billion rupees, but required a state subsidy of seven billion rupees to balance its budget.^[25]

It addresses high operational and infrastructure costs in operating a Victorian-era network. The state has been the employer of first resort, which has caused overstaffing, and its workforce needs to be more productive.^[26]

The railway also needs to raise its fares.^[27] In April 2012, the Central Bank of Sri Lanka urged state-owed enterprises (including SLR) to adopt market pricing to reduce reliance on government funding. The bank called for improved financial management and pricing to make the railway more financially viable.^[28]

Racism

In February 2017, Sri Lanka's Sunday Times criticized SLR for racist washroom facilities at stations. Foreigners may use clean washrooms, but Sri Lankan citizens are forced to use poorly-maintained and often-unsanitary washrooms. Signage clearly distinguish "foreigners' toilets" from other facilities. According to the Sunday Times article, foreigners' facilities were at the Colombo Fort, Mount Lavinia, Badulla, Hikkaduwa and Panadura stations. Transport Ministry secretary Nihal Somaweera said that foreign-tourist toilets were upgraded with funding from the Tourism Ministry. The article described the mindset of SLR's leadership as a legacy of the colonial era.^[29]

Infrastructure

Sri Lanka Railways has Victorian-era infrastructure and aging equipment. Substantial money is spent on rehabilitating poorly-maintained assets, as opposed to regular maintenance. Rolling-stock capacity has declined, reducing system quality.^[24] Since 2007, the railway has ordered new rolling stock to alleviate the shortage.^[30]

Transport integration

Sri Lanka Railways has not integrated its services with other modes of transport. Unlike other transport systems, Sri Lanka does not streamline ticketing between road and rail passenger transport or provide thorough documentation for road and rail freight service. Buses do not provide dedicated feeder-bus services to the railways, resulting in the isolation of commuter rail from buses and reduced efficiency.^[24][31]

Integration of a road-and-rail transport system would reduce traffic and reduce the cost of transportation. It would encourage the use of public transport and might aid the creation of car-free zones.^[31]

Accidents

• 18 March 1964 - A train derailed at high speed, killing over 60 people near Mirigama.
• 19 January 1985 - LTTE bombed the Yal Devi killing 11 civilians.
• 24 July 1996 - LTTE bombed a train, resulting in 70 civilian deaths at Dehiwala.
• 19 August 2001 - A train derailed because of high speed and overcrowding, killing 46 between Alawwa and Rambukkana.
• January 2002 - An intercity express en route to Colombo from Kandy derailed near Rambukkana due to a brake malfunction, killing more than 15.
• 13 June 2002 – A train derailed entering the Alawwa railway station, killing 14.
• 26 December 2004 – 2004 tsunami rail disaster – At Peraliya, over 1,700 died in the world's biggest rail disaster by death toll when a train was overwhelmed by the 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake and tsunami.
• 26 April 2005 (Polgahawela level crossing accident) – A bus trying to pass another bus at a level crossing in Yangalmodara (near Polgahawela) was struck by a train; 37 bus passengers died.

2011 Alawwa accident

• 17 September 2011 – An S11 passenger train struck the stopped Colombo-Kandy Udarata Manike at the Alawwa railway station. Five people were killed and over 30 injured.^[32]
• 17 May 2012 - After a train struck a stopped train, two trains collided between the Wandurawa and Keenawala stations in Veyangoda.^[33]
• 30 April 2014 - A northbound intercity express collided with the Colombo-bound Rajarata Rajina at Pothuhera, injuring 68 passengers.^[34]

A number of other accidents have occurred, including collisions with elephants in the north-central region. Other accidents occur at unsecured level crossings with road traffic. Of Sri Lanka's 1,684 crossings, only 527 are secure.

In an attempt to prevent collisions, SLR has begun installing a GPS-based train-protection system. The system will warn drivers of a possible collision in time to avoid it.^[35][36]