New rail line costing $ 278 m from Matara to Beliatta opens today

A painter puts the final touches on a sign board at the Bambarenda Station, which is midway on the Matara-Beliatta railway extension, in preparation for the official handing over today – Pic by P. D. De Silva

Marking another milestone in Sri Lanka Railway history, the Matara-Beliatta railway line will be declared open today by Minister of Transports and Civil Aviation Arjuna Ranatunga.

At the national ceremony held under the theme ‘Dakunu Lakata Aluth Magak’ (New Road to Southern Sri Lanka), the first train will commence the journey on the new track at the auspicious time of 9 a.m.

Following the inaugural run, the track would be opened for transportation from 2 p.m. onwards.

In the future, on the Matara-Beliatta line, seven trains have been scheduled to start form Beliatta Station. One of them will be plying up to Galle and four trains will travel up to Maradana. The two remaining trains will be heading to Jaffna and Vavuniya.

Construction of the Matara to Beliatta section at a cost of $ 278 million was carried out by a Chinese company with the funding from China Exim Bank. Supervision is being carried out under the guidance of the Central Engineering Bureau.

The main stations have been constructed at Kekunadura, Bambarenda, Wevurukannala and Beliatta. Two sub stations have been setup at Piladuwa and Veherahena.

Both the longest railway bridge in Sri Lanka and the second longest bridge are on the Matara-Beliatta track. The longest, Watagama Bridge, is 1,500m long, and the second longest bridge across the Nil Wala River is 1,400m in length.

The tunnel next to the Kekunadura Railway station, measuring 2,017ft in length, is the longest tunnel in the country. The platform of the Beliatta train station is the longest train platform in Sri Lanka at a length of 300m.