The Sri Lanka Railways is making arrangements to commence train operations on the newly layed express railway line from Galle to Matara at the end of this month.
Train services between Galle and Matara were terminated temporarily from last August to upgrade the coastal railway line.
The high-speed Southern Railway line project, from Matara to Maradana, was launched by Transport Minister Kumara Welgama by laying a new rail track at Pelana in Weligama.
Under the first phase of the project, the work of the railway track from Galle to Matara was carried out with Indian assistance. Around 90 percent of the construction of the Galle to Matara segment has already been completed," a Transport Ministry Spokesman told the Daily News. Once the new railway line is completed between Galle and Matara, trains plying on the track could travel at speeds upto 100 kilometers per hour reducing travel time.
He said that the Southern railway renovation project, funded by a long-term Indian soft loan scheme, is being handled by IRCON, an Indian company. The project will be completed in four stages; Matara to Galle, Galle to Hikkaduwa, Hikkaduwa to Kalutara South and Kalutara South to Maradana, he said.
Daily News - By Irangika RANGE
