Northern line (Sri Lanka)

The Jaffna Railway Commission report published in 1891 recommended the construction of a new railway line (now known as the northern line) from Polgahawela to Kurunegala and a survey of a line to Jaffna. The line would join the Main Line at Polgahawela Junction, allowing trains to run to the capital Colombo. Approval was given in 1892 and the new line to Kurunegala opened on 14 February 1894. Approval was given in December 1897 for the construction of the Northern Railway and an announcement was made in the Legislative Council in October 1899 that authorisation had been given for the construction of a railway line connecting the north with Colombo.{{cite book|last=Martyn|first=John H.|title=Notes on Jaffna - Chronological, Historical, Biographical|year=1923|publisher=American Ceylon Mission Press|location=Tellippalai|isbn=81-206-1670-7|url=http://www.noolaham.org/wiki/index.php?title=Notes_on_Jaffna_-_Chronological%2C_Historical%2C_Biographical}}

Tenders for the construction of railway line from Kurunegala to Kankesanthurai were called in January 1900 and construction of the new line started at Kurunegala in April 1900. Construction of the {{convert|21|mi}} Kankesanthurai-Chavakacheri section, including Jaffna, began in July 1900. This section was officially opened by Governor Sir J. W. Ridgeway on 11 March 1902.{{cite web|title=The Rail Routes of Sri Lanka: Past and Present|url=http://www.infolanka.com/org/mrail/rroutes.html|publisher=Infolanka.com}} The {{convert|14|mi}} Chavakacheri-Pallai section was opened on 5 September 1902. The northern railway line up to Anuradhapura was opened on 1 November 1904 and the construction of the line up to Medawachchiya was completed on 11 March 1905. The construction of the line was completed in the next few months and on 1 August 1905, the first train from Colombo arrived at Jaffna Railway Station.{{cite news|title=History of Yal Devi - the princess of Jaffna|url=http://www.dailynews.lk/2011/07/28/fea19.asp|newspaper=Daily News (Sri Lanka)|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://archive.today/20130218213947/http://www.dailynews.lk/2011/07/28/fea19.asp|archive-date=2013-02-18}} The journey took 13 hours and 20 minutes. The single track line between Kankesanthurai and Vavuniya had 16 stations and 12 sub-stations.

An express train called Yarl Devi was introduced on the northern line on 23 April 1956, cutting the journey time between Jaffna and Colombo to 7 hours. The service flourished and Jaffna became the second largest station in the country.{{cite news|last=Peiris|first=Gratian A.|title=B D Rampala : Engineer, entrepreneur and legend|url=http://www.dailynews.lk/2010/11/16/fea04.asp|newspaper=Daily News (Sri Lanka)|date=16 November 2010|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://archive.today/20120801062325/http://www.dailynews.lk/2010/11/16/fea04.asp|archive-date=1 August 2012}} The Yarl Devi service was the largest revenue earner for Sri Lanka Railways.{{cite news|last=Mathes|first=Rohan|title=President requests patriotic citizens: Join us in building Northern rail track|url=http://www.dailynews.lk/2009/03/24/news02.asp|newspaper=Daily News (Sri Lanka)|date=24 March 2009|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121021043821/http://www.dailynews.lk/2009/03/24/news02.asp|archive-date=21 October 2012}} Eight passenger trains and six freight trains operated daily between Jaffna and Colombo. By the early 1980s six thousand people travelled daily on the northern line.

File:Jaffna Station 2.jpg

The line's fortunes waned when the civil war started in 1983 - the government increased the number of soldiers stationed in the north, many of whom used the line to return to their homes in the south.{{cite news|last1=Palipane|first1=Jayampathi|title=Train Service Back in Former Sri Lankan War Zone|url=https://abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory/train-service-back-sri-lankan-war-zone-26149797|work=ABC News|agency=Associated Press|date=13 October 2014}} Thus the Yarl Devi service became a target for Tamil militants as it passed through areas they controlled.{{cite news|title=Sri Lanka's Colombo-Jaffna railway reopens|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-29592232|work=BBC News|date=13 October 2014}} It was blown up by Tamil Eelam Liberation Organization cadres near Murikandy, Mullaitivu District on the night of 19 January 1985, killing 34 people including 22 soldiers and destroying the tracks.{{cite book|last=Rajasingham|first=K. T.|title=Sri Lanka: The Untold Story|url=http://www.atimes.com/ind-pak/DC23Df05.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20021001211016/http://www.atimes.com/ind-pak/DC23Df05.html|url-status=unfit|archive-date=2002-10-01|chapter=Chapter 32: Limbo between war and peace}}{{cite book|last=Sri Kantha|first=Sachi|title=The Pirabhakaran Phenomenon|url=http://www.sangam.org/PIRABAKARAN/Part10.htm|chapter=Civil War Leader for Tamils}} The service was attacked again on 25 March 1986 between Puliyankulam and Vavuniya.{{cite news|title=Princess to reign the northern rails again|url=http://sundaytimes.lk/090426/Plus/sundaytimesplus_01.html|newspaper=Sunday Times (Sri Lanka)|date=26 April 2009}} The railway tracks were relaid by the Indian Peace Keeping Force and in August 1987 the Jaffna-Colombo rail services resumed.{{cite book|last=Rajasingham|first=K. T.|title=Sri Lanka: The Untold Story|url=http://www.atimes.com/ind-pak/DD13Df02.html|archive-url=https://archive.today/20021001211331/http://www.atimes.com/ind-pak/DD13Df02.html|url-status=unfit|archive-date=2002-10-01|chapter=Chapter 35: Accord turns to discord}} However, the deteriorating security meant that only a few people used the service. After the IPKF withdrew from Sri Lanka in 1990 the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam took over most of the territory the IPKF had controlled, including Jaffna. In the middle of 1990 the truce between the LTTE and Sri Lankan government broke down and full-scale war erupted. Intense fighting took place in and around Jaffna as the Sri Lankan military tried to regain control of the area. Hundreds of civilians fleeing the fighting took refuge in Jaffna Railway Station. The station was bombed by the Sri Lanka Air Force (SLAF) on 9 August 1990, damaging 6 train carriages and killing eight people nearby.{{cite web|title=Special Report No. 1: Bombing in Jaffna|url=http://www.uthr.org/SpecialReports/spreport1.htm|publisher=University Teachers for Human Rights}}{{cite news|title=Jaffna Railway Station: Emerging From The Ashes|url=http://www.thesundayleader.lk/2012/01/15/jaffna-railway-station-emerging-from-the-ashes/|newspaper=The Sunday Leader|date=15 January 2012}} The station was bombed to a shell by the SLAF.{{cite news|last1=Srinivasan|first1=Meera|title=India puts Jaffna train back on rails|url=http://www.thehindu.com/news/international/south-asia/india-puts-jaffna-train-back-on-rails/article6476395.ece|work=The Hindu|date=7 October 2014}} On 13 June 1990 the Yarl Devi service rolled into Jaffna but it could not return to Colombo as the railway track had been destroyed (it would be the last rail service into Jaffna). The station was bombed again on 16 August 1990. In the next few years the entire track between Kankesanthurai and Vavuniya and abandoned railway coaches were removed by the Sri Lankan military and Tamil rebels for use as bunkers.{{cite news|last1=Colombage|first1=Dinouk|title=In Pictures: Sri Lanka opens Tamil rail ties|url=http://www.aljazeera.com/indepth/inpictures/2014/10/pictures-sri-lanka-opens-tamil-2014101292218616826.html|work=Al Jazeera|date=13 October 2014}}

File:Construction Work at Railway Station, Jaffna.jpg

The Sri Lankan government regained control of most of the Jaffna Peninsula, including Jaffna, in 1995 but no effort was made to rebuild the northern line or the stations along it. Following the end of the civil war in May 2009 the government initiated various projects to rebuild the northern line from Vavuniya to Kankesanthurai. The line between Vavuniya and Omanthai was rebuilt by the Sri Lankan military. Thandikulam railway station was re-opened on 6 June 2009 and Omanthai railway station was re-opened on 27 May 2011.{{cite news|last=Ranasinghe|first=Shiran|title=Northern train to extend to Thandikulam|url=http://www.island.lk/2009/05/30/news14.html|newspaper=The Island (Sri Lanka)|date=30 May 2009}}{{cite news|title=Thandikulam to Omanthai railway operational|url=http://www.dailymirror.lk/news/11617--thandikulam-to-omanthai-railway-operational.html|newspaper=Daily Mirror (Sri Lanka)|date=27 May 2011}}

The contract to reconstruct the {{convert|96|km}} line between Omanthai and Pallai was awarded to Ircon International, the Indian state-owned engineering and construction company.{{cite news|title=Omanthai, Palai railway line construction in progress|url=http://www.dailynews.lk/2011/11/29/news28.asp|newspaper=Daily News (Sri Lanka)|date=29 November 2011|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120102010233/http://www.dailynews.lk/2011/11/29/news28.asp|archive-date=2 January 2012}} The project was to cost US$ 185 million and would be financed by a soft loan from the Indian government.{{cite news|last=Bhattacharjya|first=Satarupa|title=Indian Railways makes a beeline for the Lankan tracks|url=http://sundaytimes.lk/100117/News/nws_22.html|newspaper=Sunday Times (Sri Lanka)|date=17 January 2010}} In June 2011 an agreement was signed between Sri Lanka Railways and the Bank of Ceylon for the reconstruction of Jaffna Railway Station.{{cite news|title=Jaffna railway station to be re-built|url=http://www.ft.lk/2011/06/25/jaffna-railway-station-to-be-re-built/|newspaper=Daily FT|date=25 June 2011|access-date=29 January 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140222142014/http://www.ft.lk/2011/06/25/jaffna-railway-station-to-be-re-built/|archive-date=22 February 2014|url-status=dead}} The project was to cost LKR 89 million. In July 2011 it was announced that Ircon International had also been awarded the contract to reconstruct the {{convert|56|km}} line between Pallai and Kankesanthurai.{{cite news|title=India's IRCON gets Pallai to KKS $ 150 m rail deal|url=http://www.ft.lk/2011/07/16/india%E2%80%99s-ircon-gets-pallai-to-kks-150-m-rail-deal/|newspaper=Daily FT|date=16 July 2011|access-date=29 January 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110717123201/http://www.ft.lk/2011/07/16/india%E2%80%99s-ircon-gets-pallai-to-kks-150-m-rail-deal/|archive-date=17 July 2011|url-status=dead}} The project was to cost US$ 150 million and would be financed by a loan from the Export-Import Bank of India.{{cite news|title=Pallai-Kankesanthurai rail track to be restored with Indian aid|url=http://sundaytimes.lk/111120/News/nws_08.html|newspaper=Sunday Times (Sri Lanka)|date=20 November 2011}} The reconstruction of the entire northern line had been expected to be completed by the end of 2013.{{cite news|last=Wijewardena|first=Don Asoka|title='Yal Devi' again in two years|url=http://www.island.lk/index.php?page_cat=article-details&page=article-details&code_title=39363|newspaper=The Island (Sri Lanka)|date=18 November 2011}}{{cite news|last=Jayasekera|first=Sandun A.|title=Yal Devi to reach KKS by 2013|url=http://www.dailymirror.lk/news/14841-yal-devi-to-reach-kks-by-2013.html|newspaper=Daily Mirror (Sri Lanka)|date=18 November 2011}}

The line between Omanthai and Kilinochchi was re-opened on 14 September 2013.{{cite news|title='Yal Devi' reaches Kilinochchi|url=http://www.dailymirror.lk/news/35430-yal-devi-reaches-kilinochchi.html|newspaper=The Daily Mirror (Sri Lanka)|date=14 September 2013|access-date=8 March 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130916170427/http://www.dailymirror.lk/news/35430-yal-devi-reaches-kilinochchi.html|archive-date=16 September 2013|url-status=dead}}{{cite news|title=Train service up to Sri Lanka's former rebel capital resumes after 23 years|url=http://www.colombopage.com/archive_13B/Sep14_1379142587CH.php|newspaper=Colombo Page|date=14 September 2013|access-date=8 March 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140309000357/http://www.colombopage.com/archive_13B/Sep14_1379142587CH.php|archive-date=9 March 2014|url-status=dead}} The line between Kilinochchi and Pallai was re-opened on 4 March 2014.{{cite news|title=Yal Devi off to Palai|url=http://www.dailymirror.lk/news/43976-yal-devi-off-to-palai.html|newspaper=The Daily Mirror (Sri Lanka)|date=4 March 2014}}{{cite news|last=Mendis|first=B. D. Jude|title=New extended Northern Railway Line opens (Photos)|url=http://newsfirst.lk/english/2014/03/new-extended-northern-railway-line-opened-photos/23529|newspaper=News First|date=4 March 2014}} The line between Pallai and Jaffna was re-opened on 13 October 2014.{{cite news|last1=Wamanan|first1=Arthur|title=Yal Devi recommences operations to Jaffna|url=http://www.nation.lk/edition/latest-top-stories/item/34203-yal-devi-recommences-operations-to-jaffna.html|work=The Nation (Sri Lanka)|date=13 October 2014|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141019030755/http://www.nation.lk/edition/latest-top-stories/item/34203-yal-devi-recommences-operations-to-jaffna.html|archive-date=19 October 2014}} The final stretch of the line, between Jaffna and Kankesanthurai, was re-opened on 2 January 2015.{{cite news|last1=Balachandran|first1=P. K.|title=Busy Rajapaksa Skips Maiden Run on India-built Jaffna Track|url=http://www.newindianexpress.com/world/Busy-Rajapaksa-Skips-Maiden-Run-on-India-built-Jaffna-Track/2015/01/03/article2601276.ece|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150103134445/http://www.newindianexpress.com/world/Busy-Rajapaksa-Skips-Maiden-Run-on-India-built-Jaffna-Track/2015/01/03/article2601276.ece|url-status=dead|archive-date=January 3, 2015|work=The New Indian Express|date=3 January 2015}}{{cite news|last1=Pradeep|first1=Chaturanga|title=Yal Devi to KKS from today|url=http://www.dailymirror.lk/60249/yal-devi-to-kks-from-today|work=The Daily Mirror (Sri Lanka)|date=2 January 2015}}

{{Multiple image

| align = right

| direction = vertical

| width = 200

| image1 = SL Kurunegala asv2020-01 img09.jpg

| caption1 = Kurunegala is a major station on the line

| image2 = Sri Lankan train,Northern Line,Sri Lanka.JPG

| caption2 = A train waiting at a station on the northern line

| image3 = SLR M8 Loco.jpg

| caption3 = Semaphore signals at Maho junction

}}

The northern line consists of a main line running from Polgahawela to Kankesanturai and a short branch line to Mihintale. The route serves as a backbone for the country's rail services with other lines branching out from it. The Batticaloa line and the Mannar Line branch off from the northern line at Mahawa (Maho) and Medawachchiya, respectively, to serve Polonnaruwa, Trincomalee, Batticaloa, Mannar, and Talaimannar. The route mainly runs through open country, across the North Central plains. At Elephant Pass, it crosses the lagoon to enter the Jaffna peninsula.

The northern line is mainly served by intercity trains connecting major cities. More than a dozen trains run on the line in each direction each day.{{cite web|title=Train Schedule|url=http://www.gic.gov.lk/gic/index.php?option=com_findnearest&task=train|publisher=Government Information Centre|access-date=30 June 2013|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121116125305/http://www.gic.gov.lk/gic/index.php?option=com_findnearest&task=train|archive-date=16 November 2012}} Major named services that use the line include Yal Devi and Udaya Devi.

Sri Lanka Railways operates passenger services on the northern line, the most notable service on the line being the Yal Devi. ExpoRail operates a premium service on certain Sri Lanka Railways trains on the northern line, in partnership with Sri Lanka Railways.{{cite news|title=Luxury Rail|url=http://www.lbt.lk/news/business/1298-luxury-rail|access-date=28 February 2012|newspaper=Lanka Business Today|date=26 December 2012|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120302192945/http://www.lbt.lk/news/business/1298-luxury-rail|archive-date=2 March 2012}}

The northern line is entirely single track, except at stations. Track gauge is {{Track gauge|5ft6in|lk=on}} broad gauge.{{cite news|last=Perera|first=B. B.|title=Rampala regime in the local Railway History|url=http://www.island.lk/2008/07/23/features5.html|newspaper=The Island (Sri Lanka)|date=23 July 2008}} As train frequency increases, it is becoming increasingly challenging to operate trains running both direction on the single-line track. The stretch between Polgahawela and Maho is 70 km long, but only has five stations with the facility to let trains pass each other. To relieve this, SLR is planning to add a second line to dual track this portion of the line. As of June 2012, the feasibility study on this project had yet to begin.{{cite news|title=Sri Lanka to construct dual track railway line from Polgahawela to Maho|url=http://www.colombopage.com/archive_12/Jun09_1339253716KA.php|access-date=17 September 2012|newspaper=ColomboPage|date=9 June 2012}}

The northern line is not electrified, regular services run on diesel power. Current operating speed between Polgahawela and Omanthai is 80 km/h. The section from Omanthai to Kankesanturai is being rebuilt with a design speed of 120 km/h, significantly increasing operating speeds.{{cite web|title=Future Plans|url=http://www.railway.gov.lk/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=126&Itemid=180&lang=en|publisher=Sri Lanka Railways|access-date=10 February 2012|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120201071644/http://www.railway.gov.lk/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=126&Itemid=180&lang=en|archive-date=1 February 2012}}

South of Anuradhapura, the line currently operates on a lock-and-block signaling system. In 2011, the railways began a project to add electronic signalling to the rail lines in the north. The northern line between Anuradhapura and Kankesanturai was given electronic signalling with centralized traffic control, interlocking colour light system with electrically operated points, and track detection system. Level crossings would also be connected to the signalling system, thus ensuring safety at crossings.{{cite news|title=Agreement for supply and installation of Signaling & Telecommunication system for Northern railway network|url=http://asiantribune.com/news/2011/08/17/agreement-supply-and-installation-signaling-telecommunication-system-northern-railwa|newspaper=Asian Tribune|date=18 August 2011}}

{{Reflist|2}}

{{Northern Province, Sri Lanka topics}}

{{Rail transport in Sri Lanka}}

Category:1894 establishments in Ceylon

Category:5 ft 6 in gauge railways in Sri Lanka

Category:Railway lines in Sri Lanka

Category:Railway lines opened in 1894

Category:Rail transport in Jaffna District

Category:Rail transport in Kilinochchi District

Category:Rail transport in Mullaitivu District

Category:Rail transport in Vavuniya District

Category:Transport in North Central Province, Sri Lanka

Category:Transport in North Western Province, Sri Lanka