Lanka to develop four new railway lines

Colombo: The Government will commence construction work on four new railway lines including the Sapugaskanda-Avissawella, Mannar, Kurunegala-Dambulla and Padukka-Ratnapura-Hambantota lines this year.

A Spokesman for the Transport Ministry said that construction work of the dual track from Ja-Ela to Seeduwa, dual track from Peradeniya to Kandy, fourth line from Maradana to Fort and third and fourth lines on the new Kelani bridge and Matara-Kataragama line will be expedited this year.

“Several steps have already been taken to remove operational barriers on the main line at Peradeniya,” he pointed out. “Work on the dual track of the Kandy-Peradeniya (6km) line and the installation of an electric signal network by removing the old signalling system is already in process,” he said.

Although the main objective of the Polgahawela-Anuradhapura line is to convert it into a dual track, the project is being carried out to increase the speed to 100 km per hour by removing speed restrictions.

The Colombo-Matara coastal line development project will be carried out in two phases.

“After upgrading the line, we will be able to increase the speed of trains on this line to 100 kmph,” he said.