Train services from Colombo Fort to Jaffna and Anuradhapura will be temporarily suspended from tomorrow (19) for a few weeks, the Department of Railways announced.
Railway General Manager Ravindra Pathmapriya said the suspension is due to renovation and replacement work on several railway bridges along the northern railway line.
Accordingly, the Mahawa–Anuradhapura section of the railway line will be closed from tomorrow (19). In addition, the Mahawa–Omantha section will be completely closed from the 26th.
The Department also stated that development work on the Medawachchiya–Talaimannar railway line will begin tomorrow (19) as well.
Five railway bridges on the Mahawa–Omantha section are scheduled to be replaced. At the same time, renovation work on the tunnel built for the safe passage of wild elephants will also be carried out.
The Railway Department aims to complete all work before the upcoming Sinhala–Hindu New Year and restore normal north–south train operations.
Meanwhile, the ‘Pulathisi Intercity Express’ and the ‘Udayadevi’ trains will resume operations from the 20th. Plans are also in place to restart the ‘Night Mail Train’ service to Trincomalee.
The ‘Yal Devi’ (Yalrani) train will operate from Anuradhapura to Kankesanthurai from tomorrow (19), and from Omantha to Kankesanthurai from the 27th.
