A condensation of a press release relating to the opening of the Sri Lanka Railway Museum in May 2009 is below, the full article is here
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The railway network in Sri Lanka was introduced to the country by the British. The Railway, then known as Ceylon Government Railways, was conceived in the 1850’s as an instrument to develop and unify the country. The 1st sod of the Sri Lanka Railways was cut by Sir Henry Ward, the Governor, in August in 1858. The 1st Train ran on 27 December 1864, with the construction of the Main Line from Colombo to Ambepussa, 54 km to the east. This line was officially opened for traffic on 2 October 1865.
The Railway extended and developed and in 1927, a total route length of 1530 km was in operation . The Main Line was extended in stages, with service to Kandy in 1867, to Nawalapitiya in 1874, to Nanu-Oya in 1885, to Bandarawela in 1894, and to Badulla in 1924. Other lines were completed in due course to link the other parts of the country, the Matale Line in 1880, the Coast Line in 1895, the Northern Line in 1905, the Mannar Line in 1914, the Kelani Valley Line in 1919, the Puttalam Line in 1926, and the Batticaloa and Trincomalee Lines in 1928.
The First Rolling Stock landed in Ceylon in 1864. These engines were 4-4-0 type with a tender, with a fuel capacity of 5 tons and 15,200 gallons of water. The length was 49 ft. over buffers and 59 tons in weight. These engines were in use till 1926. Three and four driving wheel [axle?] locomotives, with Saturated Steam Super Heater boilers were introduced 1915. Garret class double headed locomotive were introduced in 1928 to eliminate the need for a 2nd engine to haul trains over a gradient of 1 in 44 [2.3%] in the up-country areas.
In 1954 Canadian Government gifted to Ceylon the M2 class General Motors Electric locomotives of 1310 hp. In the mid 1950s, hydraulic power coaches were purchased for faster and cleaner service for office workers. A landmark in the history of the railways was the complete dieselization of motive power in 1969 by the introduction of 88 diesel-hydraulic locomotives.
The first consignment of coaches of 2-wheel [axles?], 2-door, with 9’6” wheelbase, 22’6” long, equipped with projecting sun-shades, bonnet type of ventilator glass drop light and double roof with coconut oil lamp, started serving in this country and were in service for over nearly 20 years. The railway goods service was inaugurated with the type of wagons such as 4 wheeled wooden covered wagons.
The railway was initially built to transport coffee and tea from the hill country to Colombo for export and goods were for many years the main source of income. With time and population growth, however, passenger traffic increased and in the 1960’s overtook freight as the main source of business. The Railway is now primarily engaged in the transport of passengers, especially commuters to and from Colombo, offering a vital service and reducing road congestion.
On the inauguration of the First Railway to Ambepussa in 1864, there was no need for signaling. The trains were run at long intervals and on time table to make sure that the trains were the kept well apart.
Tablet instrument was introduced as speeds and frequencies increased for safe operation on single lines. Lock and Block instruments were used for double line sections. The List and Mores System was one of the earliest forms of interlocking used at single line station. Color light signaling and Centralized Traffic Control was started in 1959. The Railway Telecommunication system has been modernized by the introduction of VHF/UHF Radio Telecommunication facility between station and control offices.
Presently owned by the Government of Sri Lanka, the Railway network consists of 1,449 km of broad gauge (5 feet 6 inches) and 59 km narrow gauge (2 feet 6 inches currently [being] converted to broad gauge). Sri Lanka is proud to own some of the most scenic rail routes in the world.
Presently the Sri Lankan railway has only diesel locomotives on the roster with limited steam locomotives running on special tourist excursions.
Sri Lanka Railways purchased 100 stainless steel carriages from China at a total cost of 3570 million rupees [$US 28 million] recently.
Sri Lanka has not yet decided to move on to electrification, though there are many proposals.
"One of the first casualties of the ethnic conflict was the disruption of the Yal Devi and intermittent severance of linkages by the LTTE terrorists between the north and the south as early as the mid-1980s. Despite several repairs to the track and bridges, the line was permanently closed after 13 June 1990", a Transport Ministry spokesperson told the Asian Tribune.
The Uthuru-Mithuru Project – rebuilding the Yal Devi Friendship Track launched last month [April 2009] under the guidance of Transport Minister Dullas Alahapperuma – is not a mere exercise to reconstruct the northern railway line to Jaffna and KKS, but would also form a bridge of fraternity between the people of the north and the south, said the Railway spokesperson, calling on the public to support this giant project.
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