HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

This list of railway accidents in Sri Lanka provides details of significant railway crashes in
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, ...
involving railway rolling stock. Other than these, a number of accidents have taken place. One major type is elephant accidents, which typically occur in the North-Central area. Other accidents occur at unsecured level crossings with road traffic.


Worst disasters

The worst disaster was the
2004 Sri Lanka tsunami-rail disaster The 2004 Sri Lanka tsunami train wreck is the largest single rail disaster in world history by death toll, with 1,000 fatalities or more. It occurred when a crowded passenger train (No 50, Matara Express) was destroyed on a coastal railway in Sr ...
with more than 1700 people killed by a
tsunami A tsunami ( ; from , ) is a series of waves in a water body caused by the displacement of a large volume of water, generally in an ocean or a large lake. Earthquakes, volcanic eruptions and underwater explosions (including detonations, ...
following the
2004 Indian Ocean earthquake On 26 December 2004, at 07:58:53 local time (UTC+07:00, UTC+7), a major earthquake with a magnitude of 9.2–9.3 struck with an epicenter, epicentre off the west coast of Aceh in northern Sumatra, Indonesia. The Submarine earthquake, undersea ...
.


1900s

* 12 March 1928 – A passenger train and a mixed train collided near
Kalutara Kalutara (, ) or Kalutota is a major city in Kalutara District, Western Province, Sri Lanka. It is also the administrative capital of Kalutara District. It is located approximately south of the capital Colombo. The city holds a unique posit ...
killing 28 people. * 23 May 1958 – A night mail train derailed at Batticaloa, killing three and injuring several others. * 18 March 1964 – Sixty people died in a derailment at
Mirigama Mirigama (also spelled Meerigama) (; ) is a suburb in Gampaha District, Sri Lanka. It is located from Colombo, from Kurunegala and from Negombo. Mirigama is the hometown of Sri Lanka's first Prime Minister, D. S. Senanayake and former speake ...
. * 19 January 1985 – Eleven passengers were killed by an
LTTE The Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE; , ; also known as the Tamil Tigers) was a Tamil militant organization, that was based in the northern and eastern Sri Lanka. The LTTE fought to create an independent Tamil state called Tamil Eelam ...
bomb on a
Yal Devi ''Yal Devi'' (; ) is a major express train in Sri Lanka. Operated by Sri Lanka Railways, the Yal Devi connects Colombo, the nation's commercial hub, with the northern city of Jaffna and its port at Kankesanturai, where the service terminates. ...
train. * October 1985 – A freight train from
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 ...
to
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 ...
was bombed by LTTE. A Class M2 No. 571 locomotive was destroyed. * 24 July 1996 – Seventy people died after a train was bombed by
LTTE The Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE; , ; also known as the Tamil Tigers) was a Tamil militant organization, that was based in the northern and eastern Sri Lanka. The LTTE fought to create an independent Tamil state called Tamil Eelam ...
at
Dehiwala Dehiwala is a suburban area in Colombo, Sri Lanka. It lies within the administrative boundaries of Dehiwala-Mount Lavinia Municipal Council. It is known for the zoo A zoo (short for zoological garden; also called an animal park or menagerie) is ...
. * 4 December 1996 – LTTE attacked another train on the Trincomalee Line. Class M6 No. 798 locomotive was destroyed in this incident.


2000s

* 19 August 2001 – A train derailed due to high speed and overcrowding, killing 46 people, between Alawwa and Rambukkana. * January 2002 – The Intercity Express heading to
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 ...
from
Kandy Kandy (, ; , ) is a major city located in the Central Province, Sri Lanka, Central Province of Sri Lanka. It was the last capital of the Sinhalese monarchy from 1469 to 1818, under the Kingdom of Kandy. The city is situated in the midst of ...
derails near Rambukkana causing more than 15 deaths. The derailment was due to malfunctioning of the
braking system A brake is a mechanical device that inhibits motion by absorbing energy from a moving system. It is used for slowing or stopping a moving vehicle, wheel, axle, or to prevent its motion, most often accomplished by means of friction. Background ...
. * 13 June 2002 – A train derailed while coming into Alawwa railway station, killing 14 people. * 26 December 2004 – 2004 tsunami rail disaster. At Peraliya, approximately 2685 died in the world's biggest rail disaster as a train is overwhelmed by the
tsunami A tsunami ( ; from , ) is a series of waves in a water body caused by the displacement of a large volume of water, generally in an ocean or a large lake. Earthquakes, volcanic eruptions and underwater explosions (including detonations, ...
created by the
2004 Indian Ocean earthquake On 26 December 2004, at 07:58:53 local time (UTC+07:00, UTC+7), a major earthquake with a magnitude of 9.2–9.3 struck with an epicenter, epicentre off the west coast of Aceh in northern Sumatra, Indonesia. The Submarine earthquake, undersea ...
. * 26 April 2005 – Polgahawela level crossing collision, a private bus driver tries to overtake another bus and the train at a level crossing in Yangalmodara close to Polgahawela crashed. Thirty-seven people died, all on the bus. * 17 September 2011 – 2011 Alawwa rail accident, near Alawwa railway station, two trains (intercity express train no 1029 Colombo to Kandy and a Class S11 DMU) collided killing five people and injuring over 30 people. * 17 May 2012 – Two trains collided between the Wandurawa and Keenawala railway stations in Veyangoda. * 30 April 2014 – An Intercity Express train to north and the Colombo bound ''Rajarata Rajina'' train collided at Pothuhera, injuring 68 passengers. * 5 February 2018 - A train travelling between Colombo and Galle collided with a truck at Angulana, killing four people and seriously injuring two others. *28 August 2019 - Two trains travelling between Colombo Fort and Maradana stations (Fort-Chilaw) and (Maradana-Kalutara) collided head on at around 10:20 AM, with no injuries. *1 February 2022 - A family of four was killed when their vehicle collided with Rajarata Rajina at Rillamba Junction in Boossa.


See also

*
Locomotives of Sri Lanka Railways A locomotive is a rail vehicle that provides the motive power for a train. Traditionally, locomotives pulled trains from the front. However, push–pull operation has become common, and in the pursuit for longer and heavier freight train ...
*
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: ...


References


External links


Sri Lanka Railways

Pothuhera Train Accident 2014
{{DEFAULTSORT:Rail accidents in Sri Lanka
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, ...
Sri Lanka transport-related lists *