The Batticaloa line is a

railway line Rail transport (also known as train transport) is a means of transport using wheeled vehicles running in tracks, which usually consist of two parallel steel rails. Rail transport is one of the two primary means of land transport, next to road ...

Sri Lanka Sri Lanka, officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, also known historically as Ceylon, is an island country in South Asia. It lies in the Indian Ocean, southwest of the Bay of Bengal, separated from the Indian subcontinent, ...

. Branching off the

Northern line The Northern line is a London Underground line that runs between North London and South London. It is printed in black on the Tube map. It carries more passengers per year than any other Underground linearound 340million in 2019making it the bu ...

at Maho Junction, the line heads east through North Central Province and south-easterly through Eastern Province before terminating at the eastern city of

Batticaloa Batticaloa (, ''Maṭṭakkaḷappu'', ; , ''Maḍakalapuwa'', ) is a major city in the Eastern Province, Sri Lanka, and its former capital. It is the administrative capital of the Batticaloa District. The city is the seat of the Eastern Univers ...

. The line is long and has 31

stations Station may refer to: Agriculture * Station (Australian agriculture), a large Australian landholding used for livestock production * Station (New Zealand agriculture), a large New Zealand farm used for grazing by sheep and cattle ** Cattle stat ...

. The line opened in 1928. There were no services on the

Polonnaruwa Poḷonnaruwa, (; ) also referred as Pulathisipura and Vijayarajapura in History of Sri Lanka, ancient times, is the main town of Polonnaruwa District in North Central Province, Sri Lanka. The modern town of Polonnaruwa is also known as New Town, ...

-Batticaloa stretch of the line between 31 October 1996 and 12 April 2003 due to the

civil war A civil war is a war between organized groups within the same Sovereign state, state (or country). The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government policies.J ...

. The ''Udaya Devi'' service operates on the line.

Route definition

The Batticaloa line runs through the North Central and Eastern Provinces, connecting

Mahawa Mahawa (also known as Maho) () is a town in the North Western Province of Sri Lanka. It is located in the Kurunegala District. Buddhists, Muslims, Hindus and Christians live in this town. The town is situated north-west of the Yapahuwa Rock F ...

(Maho Junction) on the Northern Line with the eastern city of Batticaloa. The line runs east of Maho Junction towards

Habarana Habarana (; ) is a small city in the Anuradhapura District of Sri Lanka. The location has some mid-range and up hotels aimed at package tourists, and is a departure point for other nearby locations of greater interest. Habarana is a popular tou ...

. At Habarana, the construction of a new line to connect to

Kurunegala Kurunegala (, ; , ) is a major city in Sri Lanka. It is the capital city of the North Western Province, Sri Lanka, North Western Province and the Kurunegala District. Kurunegala was an ancient royal capital for 50 years, from the end of the 13th ...

has been proposed in June 2013 to cut short journey times between Colombo and Batticaloa-line destinations. East of Habarana, the Trincomalee Line diverges off the Batticaloa line at Gal Oya towards the port city of

Trincomalee Trincomalee (; , ; , ), historically known as Gokanna and Gokarna, is the administrative headquarters of the Trincomalee District and major resort port city of Eastern Province, Sri Lanka, Eastern Province, Sri Lanka. Located on the east coast o ...

. The Batticaloa line continues south-east towards Polonnaruwa before continuing to Batticaloa terminus.

History

The Batticaloa line opened in 1928, as a light railway. Only locomotives with light axel loads were used on the line.http://www.infolanka.com/org/mrail/rroutes.html The Rail Routes of Sri Lanka In the 1950s, the route was upgraded to support

broad gauge A broad-gauge railway is a railway with a track gauge (the distance between the rails) broader than the used by standard-gauge railways. Broad gauge of , more known as Russian gauge, is the dominant track gauge in former Soviet Union countries ...

operation, under the administration of then CGR General Manager B. D. Rampala. Sharp curves and steep gradients were eased, as well as the change to heavier rails, to match the rest of the system. Class M8A

Between 31 October 1996 and 12 April 2003, there were no services on the

-Batticaloa stretch of the line, due to the

Operation

Sri Lanka Railways operates the Udaya Devi service on the Batticaloa line. The service connects

Colombo Fort Fort (Colombo) (Sinhala: ; Tamil: ) is the central business district of Colombo in Sri Lanka. It is the financial district of Colombo and the location of the Colombo Stock Exchange (CSE) and the World Trade Centre of Colombo from which the CSE ...

with Batticaloa. Railbus service is provided for local services without significant demand. Railbus services allow SLR to meet local needs without stressing its limited rolling stock.

Infrastructure

The Batticaloa line is entirely single track, at

. The line is not electrified. Regular services run on diesel power, including the railbus services. The line currently operates on a lock-and-block signaling system.

Stations

Kalawewa

Kalawewa Railway Station () is a

railway station Rail transport (also known as train transport) is a means of transport using wheeled vehicles running in railway track, tracks, which usually consist of two parallel steel railway track, rails. Rail transport is one of the two primary means of ...

in the town of Kalawewa in the North Central region of

. Owned by

Sri Lanka Railways The Sri Lanka Railway Department (more commonly known as Sri Lanka Railways (SLR)) (Sinhala language, Sinhala: ශ්‍රී ලංකා දුම්රිය සේවය ''Śrī Laṃkā Dumriya Sēvaya''; Sri Lankan Tamil dialects, Tamil: ...

, the

state-owned State ownership, also called public ownership or government ownership, is the ownership of an industry, asset, property, or enterprise by the national government of a country or state, or a public body representing a community, as opposed to ...

railway operator, the station is part of the Batticaloa line which links

Batticaloa District Batticaloa District ( ; ) is one of the 25 districts of Sri Lanka, the second level administrative division of the country. The district is administered by a District Secretariat headed by a District Secretary (previously known as a Government A ...

with the capital

Colombo Colombo, ( ; , ; , ), is the executive and judicial capital and largest city of Sri Lanka by population. The Colombo metropolitan area is estimated to have a population of 5.6 million, and 752,993 within the municipal limits. It is the ...

. The railway station is in close proximity to the historic Kalawewa Reservoir and other local landmarks like

Yodha Ela Yoda Ela (Giant Canal) or Jaya Ganga, an long single banking water canal carrying excess water to Tissa Wewa reservoir from Kala Wewa reservoir in Anuradhapura. The Yodha Ela is known for achieving a rather low gradient for its time. The gr ...

Tourism

Kalawewa Railway Station is a preferred stop for those visiting the

Avukana Buddha Statue The Avukana statue is a standing statue of the Buddha near Kekirawa in North Central Sri Lanka. The statue, which has a height of more than , depicts the Buddha with a hand raised in reassurance, a variation of the Abhaya mudra. The Avukana st ...

, one of Sri Lanka's most iconic ancient sculptures, located a short drive from the station. The scenic beauty of the Kala Wewa reservoir and the lush greenery of the region attract both domestic and international tourists

References

{{Rail transport in Sri Lanka Railway lines in Sri Lanka Railway lines opened in 1928 Transport in Eastern Province, Sri Lanka Transport in North Central Province, Sri Lanka 5 ft 6 in gauge railways in Sri Lanka