They said the railway track from Anuradhapura to Omanthai was closed for renovation, and the activities were completed with the Indian loan assistance. The renovation project of the railway line from Maho to Omanthai, allowing the operation of trains at a speed of 100 kmph, was started in 2019. It was scheduled to be completed in November 2022. However, the project was temporarily put on hold due to the COVID pandemic and the economic crisis.

The distance of the railway line between Maho and Omanthai is 127 kms, and the renovations were conducted under Indian loan assistance. USD 2.27 million was estimated for the project.

After completing the project, Transport Minister Bandula Gunawardana and several other officials took an inspection tour of the track from Colombo Fort to KKS last week. Air-conditioned luxury carriages were added for the test run at a speed of 100 kilometres per hour.

The Yal Devi, Udaya Devi Express train, and the night mail trains will operate from today.

(Chaturanga Pradeep Samarawickrama)