Class M11 949 Maiden Trial Run to Anuradhapura with 12 compartments



When it's going to enter in revenue service?

Jan 04, Colombo: The first train service on the newly constructed Matara-Beliatta railway line is scheduled to be launched on Sunday.

The Ministry of Transport and Civil Aviation says the 36 kilometer extension of southern coastal rail line from Matara to Beliatta is completed and the first train will be run on the line on Sunday (06) to observe the operation on the new track.

Minister of Transport and Civil Aviation Arjuna Ranatunga will be the chief guest at the occasion.

The 113-kilometer railway line from Matara to Kataragama is to be completed in three phases and the Matara to Beliatta segment is the first phase of the project.

The second phase of the project is the 48 kilometer segment from Beliatta to Hambantota and the in the third phase the track will be extended another 39 kilometers from Hambantota to Kataragama.

Construction of the Matara to Beliatta section at a cost of US$ 278 million was carried out by a Chinese company with the funding from China Exim Bank. Supervision is being carried out under the guidance of the Central Engineering Bureau.

Main stations have been constructed at Kekunadura, Bambarenda, Wevurukannala and Beliatta. Two sub stations have been setup at Piladuwa and Veherahena.

About 10 percent of the railway track has been built as flyovers. A flyover of one kilometer was built from Matara to Kekunadura. The flyover from Bambaranda to Vavurukannala is the tallest and the longest railway bridge in Sri Lanka.

The main railway station at Beliatta has a length of 300 meters and it will have three platforms.

Underground tunnels have been made for the passengers to move across the platforms at the four main railway stations.

Good news! Any latest pictures of Matara-Beliatta railway line? Do they have plans to operate direct trains from Colombo to Beliatta ?

Sri Lanka's first ever electric railway system to be constructed

The Department of Railways is to construct Sri Lanka’s first ever elevated Light Rail System powered solely by electricity to travel from Fort Colombo to Malapalla, Kottawa.

It will be constructed in the areas along the Kelaniweli tracks.

The project which is already approved by the Cabinet is expected to be completed by the end of 2022 and is funded by the Asian Development Bank. The Department’s General Manager confirmed that the dual line system will see a train operate every five minutes.

The second phase of this project will be from Kottawa to Padukka and the third will be from Padukka to Avissawella.

Sri Lanka to borrow US$ 1.85 bn from Japan for light rail project

17km light rail service between Colombo Fort and Malambe to have 16 stops
Loan to be given at 0.1% interest rate; payback time 40 years with a grace period of 12 years
To be given in 6 installments between 2019 and 2024; first installment is US $ 260 mn

The Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) has agreed to lend US $ 1.85 billion to Sri Lanka to build a light rail transit (LRT) service between Colombo Fort and Malambe to ease the congestion in the country’s capital city.

The Finance and Mass Media Ministry in a statement yesterday said the funds will be borrowed at the concessionary interest rate of 0.1 percent, to be repaid within a 40-year period with a 12-year grace period.

The loan will be given in 6 instalments between the period 2019 and 2024. Sri Lanka will get US $ 260 million as the first instalment. Technical assistance for the 17km long rail project with 16 stops will also be provided by JICA.

The Cabinet of Ministers this week approved a proposal by the Finance and Mass Media Minister Mangala Samaraweera to hold negotiations and enter into an agreement with JICA in this regard.

The project will operate under the Megapolis and Western Development Ministry, and the work is expected to begin shortly.

The traffic in Colombo and the suburban areas has worsened in recent years with more and more people gathering to cities looking for better economic prospects.

It was estimated that 18.38 percent of Sri Lanka’s total population in 2017 lived in urban areas and cities.

The quality of Sri Lanka’s public transport has hardly improved during the last decade, and as a result the number of personal vehicles on the road has risen exponentially.

Due to the existing poor public transport system, purchasing a personal vehicle of some kind—a motorbike or a small car has become the dream of every youngster joining the country’s workforce.

Sri Lanka’s vehicle import tax policy is manipulated by politicians during election times to sway public opinion in the hope of getting re-elected.

Although a light railway system may address the congestion on the roads of Colombo to a certain extent, the financial viability of such a project, if it is to be run by the State, is yet to be determined.

So far haven't been able to find any information or pictures. Seems the media doesn't want to go all the way to matara to film some railtracks. Not even any pictures of the completed track. :/ Hoping someone else here has some more information.

Have been reading this LRT story for about 2 years now always the same. Construction supposed to start end of the current year but never does.

I hears that a couple of M9 locos have been re-fitted with Indian Technology. How they are performing after the refit? In which line they are operating?

I never heard about this, where did you find this out from if I may ask?

Recent Cabinet decisions noted that the Sri Lanka Railway presently, is undergoing a major technological transition to suit current trends of technology thus it is anticipated to develop the condition of the locomotive fleet through this endevour.

As such, the proposal made by Arjuna Ranatunga, Minister of Transport & Civil Aviation to award the contract for the purchase of 75 passenger coaches of 50ft for upcountry railway services and 20 flat beds for the Sri Lanka Railways, to the PT Industry Kerete Api (PT INKA) belonging to the Government of Indonesia, was approved by the Cabinet.

What do you think of the condition of the upcoming Indonesian passenger coaches?

Do not know what they look like yet so ain't gonna judge

Would be nice though to a see a change from those Romanian Astra carriages and Chinese built ones.

But still Indonesia isn't famous for trains at all...

Romanian compartments are the best