The Batticaloa line is a

railway line Rail terminology is a form of technical terminology. The difference between the American term ''railroad'' and the international term ''railway'' (used by the International Union of Railways and English-speaking countries outside the United Sta ...

Sri Lanka Sri Lanka (, ; si, ශ්‍රී ලංකා, Śrī Laṅkā, translit-std=ISO (); ta, இலங்கை, Ilaṅkai, translit-std=ISO ()), formerly known as Ceylon and officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, is an ...

. Branching off the

Northern line The Northern line is a London Underground line that runs from North London to South London. It is printed in black on the Tube map. The Northern line is unique on the Underground network in having two different routes through central London, two ...

at Maho Junction, the line heads east through North Central Province and south-easterly through Eastern Province before terminating at the eastern city of

Batticaloa Batticaloa ( ta, மட்டக்களப்பு, ''Maṭṭakkaḷappu''; si, මඩකලපුව, ''Maḍakalapuwa'') is a major city in the Eastern Province, Sri Lanka, and its former capital. It is the administrative capital of the B ...

. The line is long and has 31

stations Station may refer to: Agriculture * Station (Australian agriculture), a large Australian landholding used for livestock production * Station (New Zealand agriculture), a large New Zealand farm used for grazing by sheep and cattle ** Cattle statio ...

. The line opened in 1928. There were no services on the

Polonnaruwa Poḷonnaruwa, ( si, පොළොන්නරුව, translit=Poḷonnaruva; ta, பொலன்னறுவை, translit=Polaṉṉaṟuvai) also referred as Pulathisipura and Vijayarajapura in ancient times, is the main town of Polonnaruwa Dis ...

-Batticaloa stretch of the line between 31 October 1996 and 12 April 2003 due to the

civil war A civil war or intrastate war is a war between organized groups within the same state (or country). The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government policies ...

. The ''Udaya Devi'' service operates on the line.

Route definition

The Batticaloa line runs through the North Central and Eastern Provinces, connecting

Mahawa Mahawa (also known as Maho) ( si, මහව) is a town in the North Western Province of Sri Lanka. It is located in the Kurunegala District. Buddhists, Muslims, Hindus and Christians live in this town. The town is situated north-west of the Ya ...

(Maho Junction) on the Northern Line with the eastern city of Batticaloa. The line runs east of Maho Junction towards

Habarana Habarana ( si, හබරණ, translit=Habaraṇa; ta, அபரணை, translit=Aparaṇai) is a small city in the Anuradhapura District of Sri Lanka. The location has some mid-range and up hotels aimed at package tourists, and is a departure poi ...

. At Habarana, the construction of a new line to connect to

Kurunegala Kurunegala ( si, කුරුණෑගල, ta, குருணாகல்) is a major city in Sri Lanka. It is the capital city of the North Western Province and the Kurunegala District. Kurunegala was an ancient royal capital for 50 years, fr ...

has been proposed in June 2013 to cut short journey times between Colombo and Batticaloa-line destinations. East of Habarana, the

Trincomalee Line The Trincomalee line is a railway line in Sri Lanka. Branching off the Batticaloa line at Gal Oya Junction, the line heads north-east through North Central and Eastern provinces before terminating at the eastern city of Trincomalee. The line is ...

diverges off the Batticaloa line at Gal Oya towards the port city of

Trincomalee Trincomalee (; ta, திருகோணமலை, translit=Tirukōṇamalai; si, ත්‍රිකුණාමළය, translit= Trikuṇāmaḷaya), also known as Gokanna and Gokarna, is the administrative headquarters of the Trincomalee Dis ...

. The Batticaloa line continues south-east towards Polonnaruwa before continuing to Batticaloa terminus.

History

The Batticaloa line opened in 1928, as a light railway. Only locomotives with light axel loads were used on the line.http://www.infolanka.com/org/mrail/rroutes.html The Rail Routes of Sri Lanka In the 1950s, the route was upgraded to support

broad gauge A broad-gauge railway is a railway with a track gauge (the distance between the rails) broader than the used by standard-gauge railways. Broad gauge of , commonly known as Russian gauge, is the dominant track gauge in former Soviet Union (CIS ...

operation, under the administration of then CGR General Manager

B. D. Rampala Bamunusinghearachchige Don Rampala (14 November 1910 – 20 June 1994), (popularly known as B. D. Rampala) was chief mechanical engineer and later general manager of Sri Lanka Railways. He was the first native Sri Lankan to hold the post of c ...

. Sharp curves and steep gradients were eased, as well as the change to heavier rails, to match the rest of the system. Class M8A

Between 31 October 1996 and 12 April 2003, there were no services on the

-Batticaloa stretch of the line, due to the

Operation

Sri Lanka Railways operates the

Udaya Devi ''Udaya Devi'' ( si, උදය දේවි, Princess/Queen of the Rise/Morning) is an Express train that runs between Colombo Fort and Batticaloa in Sri Lanka. The ''Udaya Devi'' is one of three trains that runs between Colombo Fort and Batticaloa ...

service on the Batticaloa line. The service connects

Colombo Fort Fort (Colombo) (; ) is the central business district of Colombo in Sri Lanka. It is the financial district of Colombo and the location of the Colombo Stock Exchange (CSE) and the World Trade Centre of Colombo from which the CSE operates. It is ...

with Batticaloa. Railbus service is provided for local services without significant demand. Railbus services allow SLR to meet local needs without stressing its limited rolling stock.

Infrastructure

The Batticaloa line is entirely single track, at

. The line is not electrified. Regular services run on diesel power, including the railbus services. The line currently operates on a lock-and-block signaling system.

References

{{Rail transport in Sri Lanka Railway lines in Sri Lanka Railway lines opened in 1928 Transport in Eastern Province, Sri Lanka Transport in North Central Province, Sri Lanka 5 ft 6 in gauge railways in Sri Lanka

Route definition

History

Operation

Infrastructure

See also

References