Services
Sri Lanka Railways operates both intercity services, connecting major population centres, and commuter rail, serving Colombo commuter traffic. The railways also transport freight.
Most inter-city services are provided in different classes of varying comfort:
- 1st class sleeper carries sleeping-berths and are provided on a few overnight trains.
- 1st class observation car is available on certain daytime trains, mostly on the Main Line, and is very popular among tourists. The observation car provides wide views of the scenery and is normally at the rear of the train but occasionally behind the locomotive.
- 1st class air-conditioned seats are available on occasional inter-city express trains between Colombo and Vavunia and Colombo and Batticaloa. Now it also available in Udarata manike and Podi manike trains on main line.
- 2nd class seats are provided on all inter-city trains and are available as either unreserved seats or reserved seats, where a passenger is allocated a specific seat.
- 3rd class seats are available on most trains. This class can get very crowded and carries only basic facilities.
- Rajadhani express and Expo-rail are two kinds of compartments newly introduced to many inter-city trains. They are luxury, air-conditioned compartments functionning seperately from the department of railway, and therefor the prices of the tickets are bit expensive. There you will be provided with the tea,snacks and meals.
Commuter trains serve the busiest portions of the railways, ferrying commuters within Colombo and its suburbs. Most commuter trains are operated with diesel-multiple units, and lack the three-class configuration seen in the inter-city services. Commuter trains help alleviate rush hour congestion on city roads, but can be very crowded.
Electrification of the commuter rail network has been proposed, to improve energy efficiency and sustainability.
Read more about this topic: Sri Lanka Railways
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