Railway Network
Rail Transport in Sri Lanka consists of a heavy-rail intercity network connecting major population centres and commuter rail serving Colombo commuter traffic. Sri Lanka Railways operates the country’s railway network, which includes about 1,450 km (901 mi) of track. Colombo is the main node of the network, train routes connect the main cities of all nine provinces in the country.
Most of the railways were developed during the British colonial period, with the first line from Colombo to Kandy opening on 26 April 1867. The British introduced the railway as a cheap means of transporting the goods produced in the British-owned tea, rubber and coconut plantations, situated away from the main port in Colombo. Hence, the legacy rail network was suited for the distribution from plantations.
After independence from Britain, the Sri Lankan economy became focused more on industries than plantation agriculture. The road network also grew, and with the introduction of lorries, which were a faster means of transporting goods, the amount of goods transported by the railways declined. As the railway network is more focused on plantation areas and not on population and service centres, the railways have become an enterprise generating a heavy loss.
The is currently modernising and extending the Coast Line to facilitate faster trains and improved efficiency. Electrification of the busiest sections of the network was proposed in 2010, to improve energy efficiency and sustainability, but no work was carried out. The Railway is currently extending the Coastal line from Matara to Kataragama, via Hambantota.
Read more about this topic: Transport In Sri Lanka
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