Kelani Valley line

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.

Kelani Valley line
Class S8 DMUs do most of runs on the Kelani Valley line
Overview
Type	Regional rail
System	Sri Lanka Railways
Status	Operational
Locale	Sri Lanka
Termini	Colombo Fort Avissawella
Stations	25
Operation
Opened	1902 (as narrow gauge)
Closed	1992 (to start gauge conversion)
Reopened	1996 (as broad gauge)
Operator(s)	Sri Lanka Railways
Depot(s)	Maradana
Technical
Number of tracks	Single track
Track gauge	1,676 mm (5 ft 6 in)
Old gauge	2 ft 6 in (762 mm)
Minimum radius	(?)
Electrification	No
Route map Kelani Valley Line Opanayaka Katawatta Watapota Dela Thiruwanaketiya Ratnapura Kuruwaita Parakaduwa Ehaliyagoda Getaheththa Yatiyanthota Avissawella Puwakpitiya Kosgama Kadugoda Waga Morakele Gammana Pinnawala Uggalla Angampitiya Arukwathupura Padukka Watareka Meegoda Godagama Panagoda Homagama Homagama Hospital Kottawa-Makumbura Multi-Modal Transport Hub Kottawa Pannipitiya Maharagama Nawinna Udahamulla Pengiriwatte Nugegoda Kirillapone Narahenpita Cotta Road Baseline Road Main Line Maradana To Colombo

Route definition and overview

Nugegoda railway station

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

An exhibit of narrow-gauge line

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). Originally built as a 2 ft 6 in (762 mm) narrow-gauge[1] 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 1,676 mm (5 ft 6 in). The project was finally completed up to Avissawella (58 km or 36 mi) 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 1,676 mm (5 ft 6 in).[2] 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

A Class P1 locomotive in Deyata Kirula exhibition

Class N2 narrow-gauge locomotive

New S12 DMUs were introduced in 2012

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 and S12 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
S12	1950	CSR (China)	MTU 12V4000R41 V12	Diesel electric	Blue	2012

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

• Rail transport in Sri Lanka
• Railway stations in Sri Lanka
• Diesel locomotives of Sri Lanka

References

1. http://www.infolanka.com/org/mrail/slrails.html
2. "The Island". Rampala regime in the local Railway History. 2010-07-19.

• Kelani Valley railway line in Google Earth
• Kelani Valley railway line in Google Maps
• infolanka.com – Mainline Diesel Hydraulic & Narrow Gauge