China Grants $278mn Loan for Matara Kataragama Railway Extension Project

05th March 2012, www.island.lk

The Chinese government has approved a loan of US$ 278.2 million through its Export–Import (Exim) Bank on concessional terms to finance the construction of Matara – Beliatta Section (Phase I) of Matara - Kataragama Railway Extension Project, the ministry of Finance and Planning announced yesterday.

"The Matara – Beliatta Section consists of construction of 26.75 km long single line broad gauge rail track including construction of structures such as culverts, bridges over rivers, viaducts those required over the Nilwala river flood plain, level crossings, underpass boxes, road diversion, 4 numbers of railway stations and functional requirements including construction of railway quarters for staff, earth embankments, cut embankments and ground treatment etc," the Treasury said in statement.

"This is the first Phase of the Matara - Kataragama Railway Extension Project. It is expected to construct the railway line from Beliatta to Hambantota and Hambantota to Kataragama under Phase II and Phase III respectively.

"The construction of the new railway will provide an efficient and environmentally friendly mode of transport to cater increasing demand for transport due to developments in Southern region with the operation of new port and airport at Hambantota.".

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• Sri Lana's Northern Railway Line Restoration to Receive $ 382mn from India

Expo Rail Extends Service to Vavuniya from Colombo with Option to Board the Luxury Compartments from any Stop

21st February 2012, www.island.lk

Expo Rail has extended its luxury services to Vavuniya from Colombo with passengers having the option to board the carriage from any stop on the journey, on any day of the week. The train departs from the Fort Railway station in Colomboat 4.20 PM and arrives in Vavuniya at 9.10 PM. The departure from Vavuniya is at 05.45 AM arriving in Colombo at 10.25 in the morning. The journey is so much more enjoyable as this luxury journey takes approximately only 5 hours while it will take a passenger on average 7-8 hours on a good day to reach Vavuniya by road in private transport and even more by bus.

Speaking on the journey Expo Rail has been on so far, Group CEO, Hanif Yusoof said,"Expo Rail commenced its journey as the first luxury compartment in the Kandy intercity train on October 1, 2011 and added Badulla to its list of destinations on December 10, 2011 with the first train to Vavuniya flagged off on January 31, 2012 making it the fastest growing luxury train service provider in Sri Lanka. The Colombo – Kandy intercity operates daily from both destinations while the Colombo –Badulla train operates on alternate days. Expo Rail is set to further expand its operations, with Trincomalee set to be the next destination".

Expo Rail ensures it’s passengers a unique travel experience, with each and every facet of the luxury train compartment designed with their comfort in mind. The onboard crew meets and greets each passenger welcoming them to the fully equipped state of the art carriages ranking among the most up-to-date modes of trail transportation facilities.

Luxurious reclining seats for spacious comfort and relaxation, the fully air conditioned carriages with individual power outlets per seat and free Wi-F along with Wide Screen LCD Televisions are set up to enhance your journey with comfort and entertainment, as the mealsservedon board adds a new dimension to service standards in rail travel. Some of the other facilities include spacious overhead compartments, ‘First Aid’ treatment on hand and clean Wash Rooms with a cabin crew onboard offering you a personalized service.

• ExpoRail Time Table 

• Railway Map

Sri Lana's Northern Railway Line Restoration to Receive $ 382mn from India

07th January 2012, www.news360.lk

Sri Lanka will receive a US$ 382.37 million loan from India’s Export and Import Bank to restore the Northern railway line, which was destroyed during the three decades of war.

Out of the loan, US$ 149.3 will be used to reconstruct the railway line from Pallai to Kankasanthurai, while another US$ 86.52 million will be used to set up signaling and telecommunication systems in the Northern railway line.

The rest of the money, which accounts for US$ 146.51 million, will be utilized for other contracts that may be mutually agreed upon by the two governments.

Cabinet of Ministers has given its green light to obtain the loan from India.

Related Info :

• India to Build Sri Lanka's Remaining North Railway. $ 149.3mn Contract Given to Indian Railway Construction International Ltd (lRCON)

India to Build Sri Lanka's Remaining North Railway. $ 149.3mn Contract Given to Indian Railway Construction International Ltd (lRCON)

15th July 2011, www.lankabusinessonline.com

India's state-run Indian Railway Construction International Ltd (lRCON) has been given a 149.3 million US dollar contract to build a remaining part of a railway track to Sri Lanka's north, the government's information office said.

The entire track from Vavuniya to Jaffna was destroyed during a civil war which ended in 2009.

A railway track from the northern town of Vavuniya to Omanthai has already been built and trains are being run.

The track from Omanthai to Pallai has already been awarded to IRCON.

The balance part of the track from Pallai to Kankasanthurai in Jaffna has also been awarded to IRCON by the cabinet of ministers.

The 149.3 million dollar project is financed by the Exim Bank of India, the statement said.

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Sri Lanka Upgrades Rail Track on South Coast to Speeds up to 100 Kilometres an Hour

16th February 2011, www.lankabusinessonline.com

Sri Lanka inaugurated a rail track on the south coast upgraded with Indian aid to enable train speeds of up to 100 kilometres an hour, reducing travel time, Wednesday, a statement said.

The Galle-Matara track of 42 kilometres has been up-graded by India's state-owned IRCON to world standards, the Indian high commission said.

The project is the first phase of the overall coastal rail project between the capital Colombo and Matara being done with an Indian government loan of 167.40 million US dollars to rebuild areas affected by a tsunami.

"The work on phase-II of the project from Galle to Kalutara (just south of Colombo) has already commenced and would be completed early next year," the statement said.

IRCON is also doing several other rail projects as part of the government of India’s rehabilitation and reconstruction support in the north of the island.

India has offered a credit line of 800 million dollars for reconstruction of the railway system in the north after the island's 30-year ethnic war ended in 2009.

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Sri Lanka's Colombo-Katunayake Rail Track to be Upgraded with Korean Assitance. Monorail to be Setup Simultaneously

09th September 2010, www.dailynews.lk, By Ramani Kangaraarachchi

The Korean Government will assist Sri Lanka to upgrade the Colombo- Katunayake railway track with the setting up of the monorail project simultaneously.

BOI Country Officer for Korea K D Jayawardena told Daily News Business that the initial investment will be around USD 50 million for this project which will include improving the signal system and increasing speed and replacing new locomotives and coaches. With the completion of this project, passengers who travel abroad can check-in straight away at the airport which is a huge advantage.

He said there will be ample parking space at central railway stations where people can come to the stations and board the train leaving their vehicles in the park like in other countries.

This will also reduce environmental pollution while reducing cost of fuel on road transport. There will be huge potential for the private sector as Korea is not going to bring manpower other than for technology.

He hoped that engineers and construction companies will have opportunities at the implementation stage of the project. There is no requirement to acquire lands for railway tracks as they will replace the existing tracks.

Jayawardena said the Korean Government pledged that it would look into the every possibility to assist Sri Lanka to achieve this objective in view of the current peaceful and business conducive environment for foreign direct investments.

A three member committee headed by the Railways General Manager has been appointed to follow up this project. The next meeting is scheduled to be held in October in Seoul.

Meanwhile 20 engineers are due to undergo training on the project in Korea shortly.

Sri Lanka Selects IRCON International India to Reconstruct Northern Railway Line from Medawachchiya to Thalaimannar

17th August 2010, www.colombopage.com

Sri Lanka signed a commercial agreement with India today for Indian assistance to reconstruct the Northern Railway Line from Medawachchiya to Thalaimannar that was destroyed during the three decades of conflict.

S.L. Gupta, General Manager of IRCON International, an Indian company constructing the railway line signed the commercial agreement on behalf of India while Chairman of Sri Lanka Railways P.P. Wijesekara signed for Sri Lanka in the presence of Sri Lankan Minister of Transport Kumara Welgama and Indian High Commissioner in Sri Lanka Ashok K. Kantha.

The reconstruction will be carried out in two phases. In the first phase the 43 kilometer track from Medawachchiya to Madhu will be reconstructed at a cost of US $ 81.3 million. Madhu to Thalaimannar segment will be built at a cost of US $ 149.74 million.

Speaking at the occasion, High Commissioner Kantha has noted that the line of credit of USD 81.3 million is part of a larger package of assistance directed at the rehabilitation of railway infrastructure in the Northern Province of Sri Lanka, for which Government of India has committed a total amount of US $800 million in lines of credit on highly concessional terms.

The Indian High Commissioner said the reconstruction of the Medawachchiya-Thalaimannar railway line is a symbol of the friendship between India and Sri Lanka.

The construction work will be carried out by the Indian Railway Construction Company Limited (IRCON). Work on the Northern Railway Line is expected to start from October 2010.

The Indian government last year extended a US $ 425 million credit line to Sri Lanka to develop its war-damaged rail tracks in the northern region. Under the credit IRCON will be laying tracks on the Omanthai-Pallai sector of the Northern railway line and Madhu- Thalaimannar sector.

According to the Chairman of the Railways the railway line from Omanthai to Pallai will be constructed after the area is cleared of landmines.

India is also assisting in the rehabilitation of the Colombo-Matara rail link through a US $167.4 million line of credit. Work on the Colombo-Kalutara sector of this line is already at an advanced stage and the work on the 42 kilometer Galle- Matara Section is likely to be completed by December 2010.

Sri Lanka has also signed a contract with China National Machinery Import and Export Corp to build the first phase of the 110-kilometer Matara-Kataragama line along the south coast.

In the first phase of the project a 30-kilometer segment of the rail line from Matara to Beliatta along with four stations will be built with Chinese financial assistance. The first phase is to be completed by the end of this year.

The second phase will extend the rail line to Hambantota and the final stage will complete the line to Kataragama.

China is also funding the reconstruction of a 56- kilometer segment of the rail line between Pallai and Kankasanthurai.

Rail Track in Northern Sri Lanka to be Back on Track. Agreement Signed with an Indian Company

11th January 2010, www.news.lk

The Transport Ministry today entered into an agreement with an Indian Company for the reconstruction of the railway track from Omanthai to Pallai, Transport Minister Dallas Alahapperuma told a media briefing at his Ministry.

The General Manager of Railways, P. P. Wijesekara, Mr. S.L. Gupta, and the High Commissioner of India , Ashok K. Khan signed the contract.

The Minister said the total cost of this project was 185 Million US Dollars and the contractor was IRCON International Limited , a Company under the Ministry of Railways in India.

The Minister further noted that the distance of the rail track reconstruction would be 90 km in extent. The reconstruction work is expected to be completed in 30 months and after the reconstruction the maximum speed limit on this track would be 120 Kmph. There are six crossing stations between these two destinations.

Sri Lanka's Southern Rail Track to be Expedited Under Two Stages

24th November 2009, firstlanka.com

The Southern rail track project is to get underway in two stages for early conclusion. Development on the coastal railway line is to be expedited under two stages. The Ministry of Transport said development work on the first stage will begin next January on the railway track, between Galle and Matara.

The first stage of the reconstruction is to last four months. And transport between Galle and Matara will be suspended during this period.

A joint bus service will be conducted between Galle and Matara during this period for the convenience of passengers. A sum of 160 million Rupees is to be spent on the project. The Department of Railways says travelling time of train journey from Colombo to Matara will be shortened to two hours with the development of the coastal railway line. The Ruhunu Kumari train currently takes three hours and forty minutes to cover the distance.