''Uttara Devi'' ( si, උත්තර දේවී, Princess/Queen of the North ta, உத்தர தேவி) is an Intercity Express train that runs between

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 ...

, the nation's commercial hub, with the northern cities of

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 ...

and

Kankesanturai 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 Kankesan ...

History

The Uttara Devi train was introduced as Deyata Kirula on 11 September 2011. Then its name was changed to Uttara Devi in mid-2015.

Services

The Uttara Devi offers three classes of travel. *1st class offers Air conditioning and charging facilities. *2nd class. *3rd class typically gets very crowded and carries only basic facilities.

Route

The train begins its northbound journey at

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 ...

. It stops only at Gampaha, then reaches Polgahawela, the train branches off 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 ...

, moving towards

, following

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 ...

. It passes Kurunegala, the capital of North Western Province, and Maho, before continuing to the historic cultural and religious center of

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 ...

, the island's ancient capital around the 4th century BCE and home to many sites of religious and archaeological interest. The train continues towards

, passing

Vavuniya Vavuniya (, romanized: ''Vavuṉiyā'', , romanized: ''Vavuniyāva''). Vavuniya City is the capital of Vavuniya District in the Northern Province, Sri Lanka, Northern Province of Sri Lanka and the largest city in the Northern Province. The municip ...

Kilinochchi Kilinochchi ( ta, கிளிநொச்சி, translit=Kiḷinocci; si, කිලිනොච්චි, translit=Girānika) is the main town of Kilinochchi District, Northern Province of Sri Lanka. Kilinochchi is situated at the A9 road som ...

, Palai and Kodikamamam.

is the main cultural centre of the north 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 ...

. From here, the

extended to

, a port city. From Jaffna to Kankesanturai, Uttara Devi stops at every station.

Rolling Stock

Uttara Devi at Kurunegala Railway Station

The service was run by S11 DMU, but was replaced by the new S13 sets in January 2019.

References

{{Reflist

External links