Indian trains for Northern Railway Line

Ridma Dissanayake

Three new trains provided by the Indian government to Sri Lanka are to be used in the Northern Railway Line, being constructed by an Indian company.

Sri Lanka Railway Department sources said the three new trains built in India's diesel locomotive workshop in Varanasi, arrived at the Colombo Port to speed up the Northern Railway Project.

Another three trains for the Northern Line are expected to arrive from India within the next few months. The trains are provided to Sri Lanka Railways as part of the ongoing Northern railway reconstruction projects funded by the Indian government.

The railway line project, which covers over 250 kilometres, is funded as part of a US $ 800 million credit line by India.

The construction work of the 252-kilometre Northern Railway Line is carried out by the Indian state owned Indian Railway Construction Company Limited (IRCON).

The new track is designed using modern technology to sustain a speed up to 120 kmph, sources said.

The Northern Railway Line from Vavuniya to Kankesanthurai was completely destroyed by the terrorists during the past war period when the area from Vavuniya to Kankasanthurai was under the control of LTTE.

The line has now been restored from Vavuniya to Omanthai. Trains already operate up to Omanthai.