the state run railway operator . for general information on railways in sri lanka see rail transport in sri lanka . sri lanka railways type government owned corporation industry rail transport founded 1858 headquarters colombo sri lanka key people mr. b. a. p. ariyaratne general manager act . revenue lkr 4 200 000 000 1 net income lkr 7 500 000 000 number of employees approx . 14 400 2 website www.railway.gov.lk sri lanka railways reporting mark slr locale sri lanka dates of operation 1864 1864 present track gauge 1 676 mm 5 ft 6 in electrification 0 km headquarters colombo sri lanka website www.railway.gov.lk sri lanka railway department branded sri lanka railways slr is sri lanka s railway owner and primary operator . it is a key department of the sri lankan government under the ministry of transport with a history that begins in 1858 . sri lanka railways formerly cgr ceylon government railway operates the nation s rail network linking colombo the commercial capital of sri lanka and many population centres and tourist destinations . contents 1 overview 2 history 2.1 beginnings 2.2 golden era 2.3 decline 2.4 rebirth 3 services 3.1 hierarchy of trains 3.2 routes and major services 4 locomotives and rolling stock 5 issues 5.1 finances 5.2 infrastructure limitations 5.3 transport integration 5.4 major accidents 6 cultural impact 6.1 tourism 7 see also 8 references 9 external links overview edit map showing the rail network in sri lanka . presently the sri lankan railway network consists of 1 508 kilometres with 5 ft 6 in 1 676 mm broad gauge . the narrow gauge lines were 2 ft 6 in 762 mm . the railway contains some of the most magnificent scenic rail routes in the world . particularly the main line winding through both natural beauties such as waterfalls natural forest mountains misty peaks and precipices as well as man made festoons such as tea estates pine forests and engineering feats including bridges and peak level stations . history edit beginnings edit early steam powered train on the hill country colombo badulla railway line the railway network was introduced by the british colonial government in 1864 . the main reason for building a railway system in ceylon was to transport tea and coffee from the hill country to colombo . initially the service began with the main line of 54 kilometres connecting colombo and ambepussa . 3 sir guilford lindsey molesworth became the first chief engineer and later director general of the government railways . during this time many ceylonese people referred to the trains as the anguru kaka wathura bibi duwana yakada yaka 4 the coal eating water drinking sprinting metal devils . extensions were made to the main line in 1867 1874 1885 1894 and 1924 extending its service to kandy nawalapitiya nanu oya bandarawela and badulla respectively . 5 many other railway lines were added to ceylon railway system within the first century of its life such as a line to matale in 1880 coast railway line in 1895 northern line in 1905 mannar line in 1914 kelani valley in 1919 puttalam line in 1926 and railway line to batticaloa and trincomalee in 1928 . for more than 80 years after that 6 no more major extensions were added to the ceylon railway network as the british left the country on its independence . golden era edit though the british established the railway system the golden era of ceylon railways was during the period 1955 1970 under the management of b.d rampala the most respected chief mechanical engineer and later general manager of cgr . 4 rampala worked to maintain punctuality and improve comfort . he led the upgrading of major railway stations outside colombo and the rebuilding of the track in the eastern province to facilitate heavier and faster trains . he launched express trains many of which were given iconic names . in effect he ensured that ceylon s railway system was up to date in technology and offering greater comfort to its passengers . 4 7 till 1953 ceylon s railways operated steam locomotives . in the golden era it enhanced its service by changing to diesel locomotives under the leadership of rampala . 7 various types of diesel locomotives were added to the service . decline edit in the late 20th century the railway started to decline . for three decades it suffered from neglect and poor treatment . 8 by this time the sri lankan economy was focused more on industries than plantation agriculture . the road network also grew . with the growth of lorries and highways which were a faster means of transporting goods the amount of goods transported by the railways declined . the railways became an enterprise generating a heavy loss . during this time slr failed to keep up with technological innovations seen in other railways abroad . issues of travel time reliability and comfort caused it to lose much of its market share of passenger transport . by 2011 its share of the market was only seven percent . 4 rebirth edit new class s12 trainsets were imported in 2012 in the early 2010s the government launched a 10 year railway development strategy to bring the railway back to satisfactory condition . 4 8 it started by ordering new diesel multiple units dmu to replace the current trains . 8 9 in 2010 2012 the railway upgraded the track on the southern line which was damaged in the 2004 tsunami . the track was upgraded to handle trains at 100 km h allowing for shorter journey times . 10 it is also currently rebuilding the northern line which suffered from war for almost three decades . as of 2015 the line is fully restored to jaffna and kankesanturai as was before the war . 11 the railway is also extending the southern line from matara to kataragama in order to serve the growing city of hambantota . 6 as of 2015 construction is in progress on the track up to beliaththa but there are heavy delays . in 2011 sri lanka railways began partnerships with exporail and rajadhani express to launch premium services on major routes . 12 13 services edit sri lanka railways operates both intercity services connecting major population centres and commuter rail serving colombo commuter traffic . 14 the railways also transport freight . most inter city services are provided in different classes of varying comfort 15 1st class sleeper carries sleeping berths and are provided on a few overnight trains . 1st class observation car is available on certain daytime trains mostly on the main line and is very popular among tourists . the observation car provides wide views of the scenery and is normally at the rear of the train but occasionally behind the locomotive . 1st class air conditioned 15 seats are available on occasional inter city express trains between colombo and vavunia and colombo and batticaloa . now it also available in udarata manike and podi manike trains on main line . 2nd class seats are provided on all inter city trains and are available as either unreserved seats or reserved seats where a passenger is allocated a specific seat . 3rd class seats are available on most trains . this class can get very crowded and carries only basic facilities . rajadhani express and expo rail are two privately run services newly introduced to many inter city trains . they are luxury air conditioned compartments on sri lanka railways trains functioning privately in partnership with slr . the prices of the tickets are typically higher than slr s own first class tickets . on board one is provided with tea snacks and meals . commuter trains serve the busiest portions of the railways ferrying commuters within colombo and its suburbs . 16 most commuter trains are operated with diesel multiple units and lack the three class configuration seen in the inter city services . 14 commuter trains help alleviate rush hour congestion on city roads but can be very crowded . electrification of the commuter rail network has been proposed to improve energy efficiency and sustainability . 17 hierarchy of trains edit rank train description 1 air conditioned luxury trains these are air conditioned trains linking major cities . consist only of air conditioned carriages . citation needed 2 intercity express trains they are among the fastest trains there are only a few stops . 1st 2nd & 3rd class seats are available at a higher charge . citation needed 3 night mail trains night time express trains travelling away from colombo citation needed . 4 express trains have more stops than an intercity express . citation needed links colombo and major transport hubs . 5 suburban trains stops every station on its route . services are provided to certain extents from colombo . citation needed routes and major services edit main article list of named passenger trains of sri lanka scenery seen from hill country badulla colombo railway line slr divides the network into three operating regions based in colombo maradana nawalapitya and anuradhapura . 18 nine lines make up the railway network . popular services were given iconic names in the 1950s . route major services main line main line colombo fort to nawalapitya nanu oya and badulla udarata menike podi menike tikiri menike senkadagala menike up to kandy only matale line matale line peradeniya junction to kandy and matale route major services northern line northern line polgahawela to kurunegala anuradhapura jaffna and kankesanthurai yal devi rajarata rajina mannar line mannar line medawachchi junction to mannar and talaimannar batticaloa line batticaloa line maho junction railway station to polonnaruwa and batticaloa udaya devi meena gaya trincomalee line trincomalee line gal oya junction to kantale and trincomalee route major services coastal line coastal line colombo fort to galle and matara ; under construction to hambantota and kataragama ruhunu kumari samudra devi galu kumari sagarika rajarata rajina kelani valley line kelani valley line colombo maradana to avissawella puttalam line puttalam line ragama to puttalam muthu kumari bangadeniya locomotives and rolling stock edit main article locomotives of sri lanka railways class m6 loco haul udarata menike train from badulla to colombo locomotives of sri lanka railways consist mostly of diesel locomotives . steam locomotives were used on regular services until the 1950s but now only run on heritage trains such as the viceroy special . 7 19 the first locomotives pulled trains in the 1860s on the original segment of the main line on 54 kilometres connecting colombo and ambepussa . 3 in 1953 sri lanka railways enhanced its service by conversion to diesel locomotives . 7 since then various types of diesel locomotives were added to the service . as of august 2011 sri lanka does not have commercially operational electric locomotives or train sets . electrification has been proposed to improve energy efficiency and sustainability . 17 most passenger coaches are either romanian built astra passenger coaches 20 21 or chinese built csr coaches . on most lines the service is currently being upgraded as new long haul diesel multiple units from csr and india s rites ltd are being imported . 8 9 22 issues edit finances edit like several state owned enterprises in the country sri lanka railways regularly incurres large financial losses . 23 it has not made a profit since 1943 . as of may 2007 the railway makes a revenue of about three billion rupees but requires a state subsidy of seven billion rupees to balance its budget . 24 it faces the challenge of addressing high operational and infrastructure costs dealing with a victorian era network . the state has been the employer of first resort which has caused the railway to be overstaffed . priority needs to be attached to reallocating labour from less to more productive employment activities . 25 the railway also faces the need to rationalise underpriced fares . 26 in april