From Horana to Kottawa:

New railway line to be constructed

Hemanthi Guruge

A new railway line will be constructed from Horana to Kottawa, Sri Lanka Railways Planning Director Wijeya Samarasinghe said.

Speaking to the Daily News Samarasinghe said that the proposed railway line to Horana from Kottawa will be a distance of 18 kilometres to be constructed as an express railway line. Construction work on the railway line will commence next year.

The feasibility study conducted in this regard by the Sri Lanka Railway and the Moratuwa University is underway.

Railway stations such as Diyagama, Gonapola, Pokunuwita and Horana will be newly constructed. The Malapalla sub railway station will also be developed as a main railway station in the Kelani Valley railway.

The Government will complete the construction of the new railway within one year, he said. The total cost of the construction has not been estimated so far.

The Sri Lanka Railway will also construct an express railway line from Avissawella to Colombo and it will cut down travelling time. The current travelling time is about three hours, he said.