Talaimannar- Medawachchiya rail track ready by 2013 end
Dharma Sri ABEYRATNE
The construction of the Talaimannar -Medawachchiya railway line is in
rapid progress and is due to be opened by late 2013, Mannar District
Secretary Sarath Ravindra said. He was addressing a seminar in Mannar on
'The role of provincial journalists for district development' organised
by the Government Information Department.
|
Railway workers engaged in construction activities of the
Talaimannar railway line in the first phase of the
construction. |
Ravindra said the construction of the rail track is fast progressing
since the government took prompt action to reconstruct the railway line
after the completion of the humanitarian mission.
"The construction is carried out under two phases. The first phase is
from Medawachchiya to Madhu and the second phase is from Madhu to
Talaimannar," he said.
The Talaimannar railway line branches off the Northern Line at
Medawachchiya Junction. The railway line, six kilometres, will pass
through 11 railway stations and terminates at the Talaimannar Town in
Talaimannar island.
According to railway records, the line was opened in 1914. All
services on the line were stopped in June 1990 after the LTTE blasted
the Mannar bridge, which linked Mannar and Talaimannar island.
"The sleepers and rails of the railway track had been taken away by
the terrorists to build bunkers. Owing to this vandalism, the remaining
parts of the track, stations and other infrastructure on the line were
destroyed during terrorist activities of the LTTE. Following the
liberation of the country from the LTTE in May 2009, the government
initiated projects to rebuild the entire line from Medawachchiya,"
Ravindra said.
The contract to reconstruct the 44 kilometre line between
Medawachchiya Junction and Madhu was awarded to IRCON International, the
Indian state-owned engineering and construction company. The project
will cost US$ 81 million and will be financed by a soft loan from the
Indian government. IRCON has also been awarded the contract to
reconstruct the 65 kilometre line between Madhu and Talaimannar. The
project will cost US$ 150 million and will also be financed by a soft
loan from the Indian government. The reconstruction of the entire line
is expected to be completed by 2013, he said. |
