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23-406: The Coastal line begins at Maradana Station and runs west towards Colombo Fort . It then turns south and runs through much of Colombo parallel to the beaches on the city's west coast, passing many commuter rail stations, such as Slave Island . It passes Panadura before reaching Kalutara . The commuter rail services end as the line continues south along the coast towards Galle. Galle station

46-459: A "reserve" track that can allow a reduced capacity service to continue if one track is closed. If a single-track line is designed to be used by more than one train at a time, it must have passing loops (also called passing sidings or crossing loops ) at intervals along the line to allow trains running in different directions to pass each other. These consist of short stretches of double track, usually long enough to hold one train. The capacity of

69-555: A cost of US$ 600 million, and Phase 3 will reach Kataragama. The alignment shifts inland after Beliatta to protect sensitive natural habitats along the coast and minimise damage to property. A feasibility study and an environment impact assessment for the Beliatta to Hambantota and Kataragama phases of construction has been approved by the Cabinet. Construction has not yet begun as of April 2019. Sri Lanka Railways operates passenger services on

92-606: A single-track line is determined by the number of passing loops. Passing loops may also be used to allow trains heading in the same direction at different speeds to overtake. In some circumstances on some isolated branch lines with a simple shuttle service (such as the Abbey Line in Great Britain or L202 railway in Croatia) a single-track line may work under the "one train working" principle without passing loops, where only one train

115-541: A single-track railway to double track is called duplication or doubling; converting double track to single track is known as singling. A double-track railway operating only a single track is known as single-line working . Kirkby railway station (until 1977) and Ormskirk railway station (until 1970) were double-track railway , when they were converted into single-track railway with cross-platform interchange . Building bike trails on rail corridors has occurred in limited examples; however, developing rail rights of way for

138-507: Is a couple kilometres away from Maradana Station. Maradana Station features a two-storey building housing the ticket office, waiting room, and Sri Lanka Railways offices. A footbridge leads to the platforms. The main building is an example of British colonial architecture. The railways operates its centralised traffic control (CTC) for the Colombo area through a facility at Maradana. The CTC handles about 290 trains per day. The station

161-421: Is allowed on the line at a time. On single-track lines with passing loops, measures must be taken to ensure that only one train in one direction can use a stretch of single track at a time, as head-on collisions are a particular risk. Some form of signalling system is required. In traditional British practice (and countries using British practice), single-track lines were operated using a token system where

184-410: Is also a hub for commuter rail within the Colombo metropolis. Single-track railway A single-track railway is a railway where trains traveling in both directions share the same track. Single track is usually found on lesser-used rail lines, often branch lines , where the level of traffic is not high enough to justify the cost of constructing and maintaining a second track . Single track

207-560: Is designed as a terminus station. Thus trains have to back out of the station to continue towards Matara and Beliatta . Beliatta is the current terminus of the Coast line, though extension is under construction to Hambantota and Kataragama. This line was the second railway line in Sri Lanka . Construction works started after Colombo–Kandy–Badulla Main Line . On 1 March 1877 first train up to Panadura

230-453: Is served by Sri Lanka Railways , with many inter-city and commuter trains entering each day. It is the terminus of several intercity trains. Maradana is home to the suburban-Colombo network's centralised traffic control centre. When the railways first opened in Ceylon (Sri Lanka) in 1864, trains terminated at Colombo Terminus Station , a now-retired station near Maradana. In 1906, a project

253-617: Is served from the north-east by the Main line , which leads to several other major routes in Sri Lanka's railway network. To the south-east of the station, the Kelani Valley Line connects Maradana with many other area of Colombo. The station is served to the west by the Coastal line , leading to Galle and Matara . Most of these Coastal-line trains terminate at Maradana Station. Maradana station

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276-401: Is significantly cheaper to build and maintain, but has operational and safety disadvantages. For example, a single-track line that takes 15 minutes to travel through would have capacity for only two trains per hour in each direction safely. By contrast, a double track with signal boxes four minutes apart can allow up to 15 trains per hour in each direction safely, provided all the trains travel at

299-477: The Colombo metropolitan area. This includes the coastal-line segment between Colombo Fort and Panadura. In February 2017 a project to expand the single-track railway to a double-track railway from Kalutara to Paiyagala was launched. Maradana Station Maradana Railway Station ( Sinhala : මරදාන දුම්රිය ස්ථානය , Tamil : மருதானை ரயில் நிலையம் ) is a major rail hub in Colombo , Sri Lanka . The station

322-474: The coastal line. Rajadhani Express operates a premium service on certain Sri Lanka Railways trains on the coastal line, in partnership with Sri Lanka Railways. The coastal line has a gauge of 5 ft 6 in ( 1,676 mm ) broad gauge . The coastal line is not electrified. Regular services run on diesel power. However, there are plans to electrify the commuter-rail network, within

345-410: The construction works to Galle . After nearly a year and half later on 17 December 1895 train services to Matara commenced. In the mid-twentieth century, the coastal line experienced many changes to accommodate growing traffic. Galle Station was upgraded with better facilities and modern architecture. Express trains began serving the line, including the now celebrated Ruhunu Kumari . Along with

368-478: The early days of railways in North America it was common to rely upon simple timetable operation where operators knew where a train was scheduled to be at a particular time, and so would not enter a single-track stretch when they were not scheduled to. This generally worked but was inflexible and inefficient. It was improved with the invention of the telegraph and the ability to issue train orders . Converting

391-566: The longest on Sri Lanka's railway network. There is also a 615 meter long tunnel at Kekanadura. The maximum track speed is 120 km/h (75 mph). The Matara–Beliatta extension with four new railway stations and four halting places opened to traffic on 8 April 2019, the first new railway built in Sri Lanka since independence from Great Britain in 1948. Phase 2 will serve the Magampura Mahinda Rajapaksa Port in Hambantota at

414-594: The rails and sleepers to ensure smoother and safer operation. The previously 3-hours-and-forty-minute travel time between Colombo and Matara has been reduced to just two hours. The railway is being extended from Matara to Kataragama in the Southern Railway project. Phase 1 extended the railway 26.8 km from Matara to Beliatta at a cost of US$ 278 million. The China National Machinery Import and Export Corporation broke ground on Phase 1 in 2013. The line includes two bridges of 1.5 km and 1.04 km in length,

437-611: The rest of the railway network, diesel traction replaced steam locomotives on all services. The railway line was severely affected by the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami. A train was swept off the track, killing more than 1500, in the worst rail disaster in history. In 2011–2012, the Coastal Line underwent complete reconstruction between Kalutara and Matara, to upgrade the track. The line was upgraded to be able to handle trains at 100 km/h (62 mph), allowing for shorter journey times and smoother service. The upgrade included replacing

460-403: The same speed. This hindrance on the capacity of a single track may be partly overcome by making the track one-way on alternate days. Long freight trains are a problem if the passing stretches are not long enough. Other disadvantages include the propagation of delays, since one delayed train on a single track will also delay any train waiting for it to pass. Also, a single track does not have

483-584: The train driver had to be in possession of a token in order to enter a stretch of single track. Because there was only one unique token issued at any one time for each stretch of single track, it was impossible for more than one train to be on it at a time. This method is still used on some minor lines but in the longest single-track lines in Britain (e.g. the Highlands of Scotland) this has been superseded by radio communication, known as Radio Electronic Token Block . In

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506-461: Was commenced. On 1 February 1878, trains ran up to Kalutara and one year after that on 1 February 1879 Wadduwa Station was declared open. On 22 September 1879 inaugural opening of Kalutara North and Kalutara South Stations and ran first train to Kalutara South. On 31 March 1890 line extended to Kalutara South to Aluthgama . Then up to Kosgoda on 8 September 1892 and Kosgoda to Ambalangoda on 15 November 1893. On 7 May 1894 British government completed

529-610: Was launched to reorganise the railway within the Colombo area. Colombo Terminus Station was closed and replaced by the new Maradana Station. Fort Railway Station was opened in 1917, as a new central station for Colombo. Today, Maradana and Fort are the primary rail gateways to Colombo. Maradana Station is in Maradana , located next to the Elphinstone Theatre and near the Maradana Railway Yards. Colombo Fort Station

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