New intercity express trains to Vavuniya, Batticaloa
Update: The news on dailynews had some errors, and we have fixed it here
The Sri Lanka Railways Department will introduce four new Intercity Express trains from Colombo Fort to Vavuniya and Colombo Fort to Batticaloa from April 4 and 5. These new Intercity Express train services will address the long felt needs of commuters of Vavuniya, Batticaloa and people living in between these two stations.
The new ‘Yaldevi’ intercity Express train will leave Colombo Fort at 05.45 am on April 4 and reach Vavuniya around 10.07 pm. The same Intercity Express train will commence its return journey at 3.30pm from Vavuniya and reach Colombo Fort the same day around 08.35 pm.
The Railway Department will also deploy the Udayadevi Intercity Express service to Batticaloa which will commence from Colombo Fort at 10.30am on April 5. It will arrive in Batticaloa around 6.30 pm. The same Intercity Express train will commence its return journey at 7.45 pm from Batticaloa and reach Colombo Fort on the following day at around 3.40 am.
Addressing a media briefing in Colombo yesterday, Sri Lanka Railways General Manager Dr. Lalithasiri Gunaruwan said both intercity express trains comprise an observation saloon, canteen, first class, second and third class compartments.
He said the Sri Lanka Railways has undertaken several development activities for the benefit of the North and East commuters.
The General Manager said nine power sets imported from China have been used for several trains.
A Samudradevi train has been introduced with the new power set overcoming criticism from various parties. Following this decision, we have been able to save time by 40 minutes than the earlier journey. Meanwhile, this move has also saved around 300 litres of diesel per day.
Today the Railways receives compliments from the commuters due to this effort despite the criticism. “We expect to fulfill commuter needs by adding more power sets to the fleet,” he said.
Meanwhile, a new power set will be deployed to the Colombo Fort-Mahawa railway fleet. With the implementation of this new service, passengers’ time expected to be reduced by 45 minutes .
by Irangika RANGE
Source: Dailynews
