‘Yal Devi’ leaves Colombo tomorrow for Thandikulam
A train will travel beyond Vavuniya for the first time after 20 years when ‘Yal Devi’ express train leaves Fort Railway station tomorrow morning for Thandikulam which is situated approximately 3 kilometres to the north of Vavuniya, Transport Minister Dulles Alahapperuma said.
Tomorrow’s trip to Thandikulam heralds reconstruction of the Northern Railway line up to the last railway station on the northern most tip of the Jaffna peninsula, the station at KKS which is 11 kilometres away from Jaffna.
The railway track beyond Vavuniya had been totally destroyed by the LTTE. In recent times the trains travelled only up to Medawachchiya on security concerns,” Minister Alahapperuma said yesterday.
The reconstruction of the railway track beyond Omanthai situated about 16 kilometres from Vavuniya would be launched tomorrow by Minister Alahapperuma. In a simple ceremony he would lay the foundation stone at Omanthai.
The Transport Ministry expects to complete the reconstruction of the Northern Railway track with 150 kilometres, by 2010 which was launched under ‘Uthuru Mithuru’ programme at a cost of Rs. 14 billion, the Minister a said.
Meanwhile, the Transport Ministry has taken steps to bring the Fort Railway station and the private bus stand at the Bastian Mawatha under one roof in order to provide more facilities to commuters.
Accordingly, the private bus stand premises belonging to the Transport Ministry would be taken over by the National Transport Commission. All long distance journeys that started from Gunasinghapura bus stand would start from Bastian Mawatha hereafter.
The Bastian Mawatha private bus halt would be developed as a one stop shop with all modern facilities and plus trade stalls and direct access to the Fort Railway station, Minister Alahapperuma said.
Source: Daily Mirror
