Medawachchiya is a town in the

Anuradhapura District Anuradhapura ( si, අනුරාධපුර දිස්ත්‍රික්කය ''anūrādhapūra distrikkaya''; ta, அனுராதபுரம் மாவட்டம் ''Aṉurātapuram māvaṭṭam'') is a district in North Cent ...

, North Central Province of

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 ...

. Situated 27 km from

Anuradhapura Anuradhapura ( si, අනුරාධපුරය, translit=Anurādhapuraya; ta, அனுராதபுரம், translit=Aṉurātapuram) is a major city located in north central plain of Sri Lanka. It is the capital city of North Central ...

, on the '' A9''

Jaffna Jaffna (, ) is the capital city of the Northern Province of Sri Lanka. It is the administrative headquarters of the Jaffna District located on a peninsula of the same name. With a population of 88,138 in 2012, Jaffna is Sri Lanka's 12th most ...

Kandy Kandy ( si, මහනුවර ''Mahanuwara'', ; ta, கண்டி Kandy, ) is a major city in Sri Lanka located in the Central Province. It was the last capital of the ancient kings' era of Sri Lanka. The city lies in the midst of hills ...

main road, it is 229 km from

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 ...

. Medawachchiya is also the point from which the ''A14'' main road to

Mannar Mannar may refer to the following places: India * Mannar, Alappuzha, a town in Chengannur Taluk, Kerala Sri Lanka * Mannar District, one of 25 districts in Sri Lanka ** Mannar Island, an island within the district **Mannar Bridge, a bridge connect ...

and

Talaimannar Talaimannar ( ta, தலைமன்னார்; si, තලෙයිමන්නාරම) is a settlement in Sri Lanka located on the northwestern coast of Mannar Island. Transport Sri Lanka's northern railway line was destroyed, disrupted ...

starts. Medawachchiya is a significant railway junction on

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 ...

' northern network. Medawachchiya is the junction between the Northern Line and the Mannar Line.

History

The railway track on the Mannar Line was abandoned during the civil war due to terrorist activities of the

Tamil Tigers The Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE; ta, தமிழீழ விடுதலைப் புலிகள், translit=Tamiḻīḻa viṭutalaip pulikaḷ, si, දෙමළ ඊළාම් විමුක්ති කොටි, t ...

which was active in the area from 1983 till May 2009 when the area was completely liberated by the Sri Lanka Army. Northern Line rail track around Medawachchiya survived the war, but were also destroyed further north. Following the end of the conflict, reconstruction of the lost railway network had begun.

Local administration

Home to a Divisional Secretary of the government and many other government and commercial institutions, Medawachchiya is fast growing town on the main supply route to Northern Sri Lanka.

Infrastructure

Road

Medawachchi is where the main crossroads of the Northern part of Sri Lanka meet. From Medawachchi, there are four main roads to four main towns in the country. North to Jaffna, south to Kandy, northwest to Mannar and northeast to Trincomalee. It is an administratively and commercially viable location. It also comes under the dry zone area of Sri Lanka.

Rail

Medawachchiya has a significant railway station and is an important railway junction along

' northern network. Medawachchiya is the junction between 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 ...

and the

Mannar Line The Mannar line is a railway line in Sri Lanka. Branching off the northern line at Medawachchiya Junction, the line heads north-west through North Central and Northern provinces before terminating at the town of Talaimannar. The line is long ...

, offering services to Colombo, Jaffna,

Kankasanturai Kankesanthurai (, , lit. ''Port Kankesan''), colloquially known as KKS, is a port suburb, fishing division and resort hub of the Jaffna District, Northern Province, Sri Lanka. Formerly an electoral district, Kankesanthurai is home to the Kankes ...

, and

. The Mannar Line (also known as Indo-Lanka railway) is partially closed due to war and reconstruction. The 43 km stretch between Medawachchiya and Madhu Road was reopened to passenger service on 14 May 2013, as the first phase of rebuilding the line. The first train marked the start of the long-awaited train services on the line. Sri Lanka’s Economic Development Minister Basil Rajapaksa, Transport Minister Kumara Welgama, and Indian High Commissioner Ashok K Kantha were among the first passengers on the train that left from Anuradhapura to Madhu Road station in the Northern Province. Governor of Northern Province G A Chandrasiri, senior Minister Douglas Dayananda, General Manager, Sri Lanka Railways B A P Ariyaratne, and General Manager, IRCON S L Gupta were present at the ceremony. This is the first phase of the , 252-km long Northern Railway project, including the Mannar Line, is being funded by the Government of India under its special Line of Credit. The line has been constructed on schedule by

Ircon International Ircon International, or Indian Railway Construction Limited (IRCON), is an Indian engineering & construction corporation, specialized in transport infrastructure. The public sector undertaking was established in 1976, by the Indian Railways und ...

, an Indian Railways undertaking. The Mannar Line will be extended up to the port of

on the Western coast. Medawachchiya there four main roads to Horopathana; roads go to 08 km Ralapanawa village in buduras viharaya temple.

History

Local administration

Infrastructure

Road

Rail

See also