Anuradhapura and Omanthai Railway to be reconstructed

The Anuradhapura-Vavuniya stretch of the Northern Railway line will remain closed for five months from yesterday due to the reconstruction of the entire stretch between Anuradhapura and Omanthai which has been neglected for a long time.

A spokesman from Sri Lanka Railways said the reconstruction will be implemented by IRCON International, the Indian Railways’ construction company under an Indian Credit Line of Rs.33 billion.

On completion of the reconstruction of the stretch, trains could be operated at a maximum speed of 100 kmph between Anuradhapura to Omanthai. A programme has been prepared to transport commuters who will be affected during the renovation works of the railway line.

Five daily train journeys from Colombo to Anuradhapura are scheduled to be implemented and a combined bus service will be implemented by the SLTB and the private buses to continuously transport all the passengers from Anuradhapura to Jaffna to mitigate difficulties faced by passengers. This programme will be implemented by the Railway Department in collaboration with the Provincial Road Development Authority, the Governors, and the SLTB.

Meanwhile, the Railway Station Masters' Union (RSMU) yesterday said the cancellation of the daily train journeys from Colombo to Kankasanturaya will cause great inconvenience to the people due to the five-month closure of the stretch between Anuradhapura and Omanthai.

It is essential to build a double track to reduce the time in train operations instead of modernizing the existing railway line.

As a Trade Union, we oppose this kind of national project as it is only misappropriating the public funds which are being spent on these corrupt transactions," a Spokesman from the Association said.

If there is a need to modernise this track as a single track, the authorities would have done it in the same way as planned during the Covid pandemic period when train operations were stopped. But, they did not do so. Therefore, the knowledge of the authorities on project planning will clearly show to the people of this country.