The Kelani Valley railway line in Sri Lanka, covering the breadth of Colombo District. The line is owned, maintained, and operated by Sri Lanka Railways.
Route definition and overview
The Kelani Valley line runs southeast from Colombo Maradana Station, through much of the city of Colombo. It runs through major business centres, like Nugegoda and Maharagama, before turning eastwards. It crosses the Southern Expressway near Homagama and continues east towards Avissawella, the current terminus of the line. The line serves an increasingly urbanising community.
Major railway stations on the line are Colombo Fort, Maradana, Narahenpita, Nugegoda, Maharagama, Pannipitiya, Kottawa, Homagama, Meegoda, Padukka, Waga, Kosgama, and Avissawella.
History
Narrow-gauge era
The Kelani Valley line was originally built from Colombo to Yatiyanthota via Avissawella during 1900–1902. It was branched off at Avissawella and extended up to Opanayaka via Ratnapura (completed in 1912). It was officially opened for service in 1919. Originally built as a narrow-gauge line to serve the rubber plantations in the area, the railway line between Avissawella and Yatiyanthota was removed in 1942, the line from Homagama to Opanayaka abandoned in 1973.
The services were restarted up to Avissawella in 1978.
Gauge conversion In 1992, a project was started to convert the line to . The project was finally completed up to Avissawella () in 1996. The tracks beyond were completely dismantled leaving only ruined stations, bridges, and bunds.
Infrastructure The Kelani Valley line is entirely single track, at . As train frequency increases, it is becoming increasingly challenging to operate trains running both direction on the single-line track.
Currently the line serves an increasingly urbanizing population leading up to Avissawella. The Kelani Valley line is not electrified. All services run on diesel power. Current operating speeds are limited due to the sharp curves on the line.
Locomotives and rolling stock
During the narrow-gauge era, the line had its own fleet of narrow-gauge locomotives and rolling stock. The steam locomotives of Class K and Sentinel railcars class V1 and V2 were also used. Class Horse power Manufacturer Engine Transmission Livery Imported year N1 492 Krupp 8 cylinder powered Hydraulic Red 1953 N2 600 Kawasaki Japan General Motors Detroit diesel v16 Hydraulic Blue & red 1973 P1 132 Hunslet Ruston Hornsby 6 cylinder Mechanical Green 1950
Currently, the line is operated with broad-gauged S8 diesel multiple units. Class Horse power Manufacturer Engine Transmission Livery Imported year Notes S6 1165 Hitachi (Japan) Paxman V12-12YJXL (4 stroke) Diesel hydraulic Formerly Red, then Orange with White stripes (similar to the S8 livery) 1975 Not in use. S7 1020 Hitachi (Japan) Cummins V8 KTA-2300 (4 stroke) Diesel hydraulic Green 1977 Not in use S8 1430 Hitachi (Japan) & Hyundai (S. Korea) MTU 12V396TCI13 Diesel hydraulic Orange, white, and gray 1991
Planned extension to Hambantota Sri Lanka Railways is planning to restore the Kelani Valley Line up to Opanayake through Kuruvita, Ratnapura and Kahawatta and to augment the line with a broad gauge via Embilipitiya and Suriyawewa to the port of Hambantota by 2030.
Operation Sri Lanka Railways has a monopoly on the operation of Kelani Valley line.
As of January 2016, there were 20 trains operating on the line daily, mainly catering to rush hour commuters traveling to and from Colombo. In addition to this, Sri Lanka Railways introduced a rail bus service to cater commuters traveling between Kosgama and Maharagama during daytime.
See also Sri Lanka Railways Railway stations in Sri Lanka Diesel locomotives of Sri Lanka
References
Kelani Valley railway line in Google Earth Kelani Valley railway line in Google Maps infolanka.com – Mainline Diesel Hydraulic & Narrow Gauge