Train services between Galle and Matara will resume tomorrow (16) following the modernization of the track to allow trains operate at 100 km per hour.
Sri Lankan Railways suspended the services for several months to facilitate the laying of a new track.
"There are 102 level crossings on the 43-km stretch," Railways Department Planning Director Wijaya Samarasinghe said. According to him, trains on this stretch couldn’t have operated at more than 40 km per hour.
He said that this was the first phase of a four-phased project, which would be completed in 2013.
Responding to a query, the official said that the department would increase the number of trains running on the coastal line.
"We recently imported three trains from India for deployment on the coastal line. We are also hoping to use power sets once the project is fully completed," Samarasinghe said.
The second stage of the project will commence in March. The full project would cost $36 million, Samarasinghe said.
The Island - By Pabodha Hettige
