SL Colombo asv2020-01 img38 Maradana station

Maradana Railway Station ( si, මරදාන දුම්රිය ස්ථානය, ta, மருதானை ரயில் நிலையம்) is a major rail hub in

Colombo Colombo ( ; si, කොළඹ, translit=Koḷam̆ba, ; ta, கொழும்பு, translit=Koḻumpu, ) is the executive and judicial capital and largest city of Sri Lanka by population. According to the Brookings Institution, Colombo me ...

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 ...

. The station is served by

Sri Lanka Railways The Sri Lanka Railway Department (more commonly known as Sri Lanka Railways (SLR)) ( Sinhala: ශ්‍රී ලංකා දුම්රිය සේවය ''Śrī Laṃkā Dumriya Sēvaya''; Tamil: இலங்கை புகையிரத ...

, with many inter-city and commuter trains entering each day. It is the terminus of several intercity trains."Sri Lanka Railways Timetable"
Maradana is home to the suburban-Colombo network's centralised traffic control centre.

History

When the railways first opened in

Ceylon 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 ...

(Sri Lanka) in 1864, trains terminated at

Colombo Terminus Station Colombo Terminus Station was the primary railway station in Colombo, Sri Lanka in the nineteenth century. It was retired from service at the beginning of the twentieth century and replaced by Maradana Station. The preserved building is now home ...

, a now-retired station near Maradana. In 1906, a project was launched to reorganise the railway within the Colombo area. Colombo Terminus Station was closed and replaced by the new Maradana Station.

Fort Railway Station Fort railway station is a major rail hub in Colombo, Sri Lanka. The station is served by Sri Lanka Railways, with many inter-city and commuter trains entering each day. Fort Station is the main rail gateway to central Colombo; it is the terminus ...

was opened in 1917, as a new central station for Colombo. Today, Maradana and Fort are the primary rail gateways to Colombo.

Location

Maradana Station is in

Maradana Maradana is a suburb of Colombo, Sri Lanka. Maradana is the site of Maradana Railway Station, one of the primary railway hubs in the country, serving intercity rail and commuter rail. Maradana also has many railway yards and running sheds. A te ...

, located next to the

Elphinstone Theatre Elphinstone may refer to: Places ;Australia: * Elphinstone, Queensland (Isaac Region) * Elphinstone, Queensland (Toowoomba Region) * Elphinstone, Victoria * County of Elphinstone, Queensland * Lake Elphinstone, Queensland ;Canada: * Elphinstone, ...

and near the Maradana Railway Yards.

Colombo Fort Station Fort railway station is a major rail hub in Colombo, Sri Lanka. The station is served by Sri Lanka Railways, with many inter-city and commuter trains entering each day. Fort Station is the main rail gateway to central Colombo; it is the terminus ...

is a couple kilometres away from Maradana Station.

Features

Maradana Station features a two-storey building housing the ticket office, waiting room, and

offices. A footbridge leads to the platforms.Cave, Henry. "The Ceylon government railway: a descriptive and illustrated guide..." London: Cassell and Company, Limited. approx. 1910. https://books.google.com/books?id=GzwdAQAAMAAJ&pg=PA31&lpg=PA31&dq=colombo+terminus+station&source=bl&ots=wcsJvT6NgG&sig=Mj4tRpSY5z7KC_-w7CZchxvBMe0&hl=en&ei=mUrHTsLpMsnf0QGs1rgs&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=5&sqi=2&ved=0CD0Q6AEwBA#v=onepage&q=colombo%20terminus%20station&f=false The main building is an example of British colonial architecture. The railways operates its

centralised traffic control Centralized traffic control (CTC) is a form of railway signalling that originated in North America. CTC consolidates train routing decisions that were previously carried out by local signal operators or the train crews themselves. The system cons ...

(CTC) for the Colombo area through a facility at Maradana. The CTC handles about 290 trains per day.

Services

The station is served from the north-east by the

Main line Mainline, ''Main line'', or ''Main Line'' may refer to: Transportation Railway * Main line (railway), the principal artery of a railway system * Main line railway preservation, the practice of operating preserved trains on an operational railw ...

, which leads to several other major routes in Sri Lanka's railway network. To the south-east of the station, the

Kelani Valley Line The Kelani Valley railway line in Sri Lanka, covering the breadth of Colombo District. The line is owned, maintained, and operated by Sri Lanka Railways. Route definition and overview The Kelani Valley line runs southeast from Colombo Maradan ...

connects Maradana with many other area of Colombo. The station is served to the west by the Coastal line, leading to

Galle Galle ( si, ගාල්ල, translit=Gālla; ta, காலி, translit=Kāli) (formerly Point de Galle) is a major city in Sri Lanka, situated on the southwestern tip, from Colombo. Galle is the provincial capital and largest city of Souther ...

and Matara. Most of these Coastal-line trains terminate at Maradana Station. Maradana station is also a hub for commuter rail within the Colombo metropolis.

Inter-city trains

Commuter and local trains

Continuity

References

{{coord missing, Sri Lanka Railway stations on the Coastal Line Railway stations on the Main Line (Sri Lanka) Railway stations on the Kelani Valley railway line Railway stations opened in 1908 Railway stations in Colombo 1908 establishments in Ceylon Archaeological protected monuments in Colombo District