Fort railway station 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. Fort Station is the main rail gateway to central Colombo; it is the terminus of most intercity trains in the country.
["Sri Lanka Railways Timetable"](_blank)
History
![FORT STATION COLOMBO SRI LANKA JAN 2013 (8579278897)](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/54/FORT_STATION_COLOMBO_SRI_LANKA_JAN_2013_%288579278897%29.jpg)
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. The earliest station to be called ''Fort'' was a small station, built in 1877 when the
Coast Line was built. This original station sat on the site of present-day Secretariat Halt just west of today's Fort Station.
The present Fort Station was opened in 1917, as a new central station for Colombo. This has been constructed similar to
Manchester Victoria station
Manchester Victoria station in Manchester, England is a combined mainline railway station and Metrolink tram stop. Situated to the north of the city centre on Hunts Bank, close to Manchester Cathedral, it adjoins Manchester Arena which was co ...
.
The station was built on land reclaimed from the
Beira Lake
Beira Lake (/bˈɐjɾɐ/; Sinhalese: බේරේ වැව, translit. ''Bērē væva''; Tami: பேரே ஏரி, translit. ''Pērē ēri'') is a lake in the centre of the city of Colombo in Sri Lanka. The lake is surrounded by many large b ...
. This project was part of a scheme started in 1906 to reorganize the railway within Colombo, where Colombo Terminus Station was closed and replaced by the new
Maradana Station
Maradana Railway Station ( si, මරදාන දුම්රිය ස්ථානය, ta, மருதானை ரயில் நிலையம்) is a major rail hub in Colombo, Sri Lanka. The station is served by Sri Lanka Railways, ...
. This was ceremonially opened by G.P. Green who was the General Manager at CGR.
Fort was added in 1917 to serve the city centre.
The station
was bombed by the
LTTE
The Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE; ta, தமிழீழ விடுதலைப் புலிகள், translit=Tamiḻīḻa viṭutalaip pulikaḷ, si, දෙමළ ඊළාම් විමුක්ති කොටි, t ...
in 2008.
Location
![SL Colombo asv2020-01 img09 Fort station](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/be/SL_Colombo_asv2020-01_img09_Fort_station.jpg)
Fort Station is in the heart of the city, located next to
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 ...
and
Pettah
Pettah may refer to:
* Pettah of Ahmednagar, a fortified town outside the Fort of Ahmednagar stormed by British soldiers in 1803 during Second Anglo-Maratha War
* Pettah, Colombo, a neighborhood in Colombo, Sri Lanka located east of the City cent ...
and close to the meeting points of the
A1 and
A4 highways. The station provides access to businesses and offices in Colombo Fort, as well as the markets at Pettah.
Fort Station is a couple kilometres away from
Maradana Station
Maradana Railway Station ( si, මරදාන දුම්රිය ස්ථානය, ta, மருதானை ரயில் நிலையம்) is a major rail hub in Colombo, Sri Lanka. The station is served by Sri Lanka Railways, ...
, the other major rail station in Colombo.
Transport connections
In addition to providing connection between the many trains that serve the station, Fort Station also provides connections to
bus services through the Central Bus Stand in Pettah. Colombo Secretariat Station, the city terminus for the Airport Express, is located to the west of the station, with no direct pedestrian connection.
Services
![FORT STATION COLOMBO SRI LANKA JAN 2013 (8584357142)](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/c0/FORT_STATION_COLOMBO_SRI_LANKA_JAN_2013_%288584357142%29.jpg)
The station is served from the 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. Most of these trains terminate at Fort Station. The station is served to the south-west by the
Coastal line, leading to Galle and Matara.
Fort station is also a hub for commuter rail within the Colombo metropolis.
Inter-city trains
Commuter and local trains
Continuity
Station layout
The station has a through-station layout, despite being the terminus for many services. This allows most platforms to serve both terminating and through trains. The platforms are oriented east-west. The ticket hall is to the north of the platforms.
Trivia
The station was used as a film location in the film ''
A Common Man'' directed by
Chandran Rutnam
Chandran Rutnam is a Sri Lankan filmmaker and entrepreneur.
Rutnam has hosted numerous Hollywood films for their location shoots in Sri Lanka and Malaysia. He was the Line Producer/Production Supervisor on several international productions incl ...
and starring
Ben Cross
Harry Bernard Cross (16 December 1947 – 18 August 2020) was an English stage and film actor. He was best known for playing Billy Flynn in the original West End production of the musical ''Chicago'', and his portrayal of the British Ol ...
and
Ben Kingsley
Sir Ben Kingsley (born Krishna Pandit Bhanji; 31 December 1943) is an English actor. He has received various accolades throughout his career spanning five decades, including an Academy Award, a British Academy Film Award, a Grammy Award, and two ...
.
See also
*
Railway stations in Sri Lanka
List of railway stations in Sri Lanka, in alphabetical order, are as follows:
A
* Abanpola, North Western Province
* Agbopura, Eastern Province
* Ahangama, Southern Province
* Ahungalle, Southern Province
* Akurala, Southern Prov ...
*
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 ...
*
List of railway stations by line order in Sri Lanka Ordered by railway track
Main Line
The line from Colombo Fort to Badulla
Matale Line
The line from Peradeniya Junction to Matale
Puttalam Line
The line from Ragama Junction to Periyanagavillu
Kelani Valley Railway Line
T ...
*
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 ...
References
{{Reflist
Railway stations on the Coastal Line
Railway stations on the Main Line (Sri Lanka)
Railway stations in Colombo