Sri Lanka Railway - History

 Presently the Sri Lankan Railway network consists of 1,508 kilometres with5 ft 6 in (1,676 mm) broad gauge. The narrow gauge lines were 2 ft 6 in (762 mm). The railway contains some of the most magnificent scenic rail routes in the world. Particularly the Main Line winding through both natural beauties such as waterfalls, natural forest mountains, misty peaks and precipices, as well as man made festoons such as tea estates, pine forests and engineering feats including bridges and peak level stations.

History

Beginnings

Early steam powered train on the hill-country Colombo-Badulla railway line

The railway network was introduced by the British colonial government in 1864. The main reason for building a railway system in Sri Lanka (Ceylon) was to transport tea and coffee from the hill country to Colombo. Initially the service began with the Main Line of 54 kilometres connecting Colombo and Ambepussa.^[3] Sir Guilford Lindsey Molesworth became the first chief engineer and later Director General of the government railways. During this time, many Sri Lankans referred to the trains as the Anguru Kaka Wathura Bibi Duwana Yakada Yaka^[4](the coal-eating, water-drinking, sprinting, metal yaks).

Extensions were made to the main line in 1867, 1874, 1885, 1894 and 1924, extending its service to Kandy, Nawalapitiya, Nanu Oya, Bandarawela and Badulla, respectively.^[5] Many other railway lines were added to Ceylon Railway System within the first century of its life, such as a line to Matale in 1880, Coast Railway Line in 1895, Northern Line in 1905, Mannar Line in 1914, Kelani Valley in 1919, Puttalam Line in 1926, and Railway Line to Batticaloa and Trincomalee in 1928. For more than 80 years after that,^[6] no more major extensions were added to the Sri Lankan (Ceylon) railway network as the British left the country for independent rule.

Golden era

Though the British established the railway system, the golden era of Sri Lanka Railways was during 1955–1970 under the management of B.D Rampala, the most respected chief mechanical engineer and later General Manager of CGR.^[4] Rampala worked to maintain punctuality and improve comfort. He led the upgrading of major railway stations outside Colombo, and the rebuilding of the track in the Eastern Province to facilitate heavier and faster trains. He launched express trains, many of which were given iconic names. In effect, he ensured that Sri Lanka's railway system was up-to-date in technology and offering greater comfort to its passengers.^[4][7]

Till 1953, Sri Lankan Railway served with steam locomotives. In the golden era, it enhanced its service to more power with diesel locomotives, under the leadership of Rampala.^[7]Various types of diesel locomotives were added to the service.

Decline

In the late 20th century, the railway started to decline. For three decades, it suffered from neglect and poor treatment.^[8] By this time, the Sri Lankan economy was focused more on industries than plantation agriculture. The road network also grew. With the growth of lorries and highways, which were a faster means of transporting goods, the amount of goods transported by the railways declined. The railways became an enterprise generating a heavy loss.

During this time, SLR failed to keep up with technological innovations seen in other railways abroad. Issues of travel time, reliability, and comfort caused it to lose much of its market share of passenger transport. By 2011, its share of the market was only seven percent.^[4]

Rebirth

New Class S12 trainsets were imported in 2012

In the early 2010s, the government launched a 10-year Railway Development Strategy to bring the railway back to satisfactory condition.^[4][8] It started by ordering new diesel-multiple units (DMU) to replace the current trains.^[8][9] In 2010-2012, the railway upgraded the track on the Southern line, which was damaged in the 2004 tsunami. The track was upgraded to handle trains at 100km/h, allowing for shorter journey times.^[10] It is also currently rebuilding the Northern line, which suffered from war for almost three decades. The line is planned to return to Jaffna and Kankesanturai.^[11] The railway is also extending the Southern line from Matara to Kataragama, in order to serve the growing city of Hambantota.^[6]

In 2011, Sri Lanka Railways began partnerships with ExpoRail and Rajadhani Express to launch premium services on major routes

Source - wikipedia.org