by
Sulohchana Ramiah Mohan
The untold hardships and tiring long distance travel the Northerners had to experience, for almost four decades, due to there being no proper transport system, will soon be a thing of the past. No more will they have to languish in bus stands or hire vehicles paying exorbitant rates to reach the South or any part of Sri Lanka, for come the beginning of next year, the entire Northern Province railway line will be handed over to the people by Ircon International, under the flagship of the Indian Government.
The Yaal Devi Express, which had been in operation since 1956, was unable to continue its service during the war and came to a complete standstill in the 1990s with its operation between Kankesanthurai (KKS) and Vavuniya being terminated.
For several decades the Northern Peninsula was affected by the war and the entire railway system was put out of function causing immense suffering to the people of the country, who were unable to go to the North or leave their villages when the troubles erupted.
However, now, the Medawachchiya to Madhu Road segment, which is 43kms, was inaugurated on May 14, 2013, the Omanthai to Kilinochchi segment, which is 90 km, has been in operation since September 14, 2013, while the Kilinochchi to Pallai segment, which is 27.5 in kms, was inaugurated on March 2, 2014, helping people to be ‘re-connected’.
Ready for inauguration
While the Omanthai-Pallai railway line reconstruction has been completed, the Pallai –Jaffna segment is ready to be inaugurated by President Mahinda Rajapaksa on October 13, 2014, according to Indian High Comission officials.
Also on track are the Medawachchiya -Talaimannar (63km) line and a major bridge over the Mannar Creek. A 5km stretch will be ready by December 1, according to Additional General Manager Ircon Ltd, V. K. Jayasankar.
He also added that Jaffna to KKS, another 18km stretch of railway line, is under construction and would be completed by end of this year.
The newly constructed railroad, by the Indians, is a pleasure to travel on, as the train could speed over it without any hassle, braking or shaking getting passengers to their destination quickly.
High speed
“The rehabilitated tracts can accommodate trains travelling at speeds up to 120 kmph, which means it would only take about five hours to reach Jaffna from Colombo, unlike before, which was eight to nine hours,” said, Ircon international Ltd, Project Manager, S. L. Gupta, who accompanied the media on the train journey from Anuradhapura to Pallai via Omanthai.
The Anuradhapura – Omanthai stretch, which was not awarded to India, still remains as the ancient railway line offering, a wriggly, bumpy journey. The new line was immediately felt when the train crossed Omanthai to reach Pallai ( the track was completed by the Indians), when the train carriage stopped shaking but transformed into a smooth ride speeding up to 100kmph.
“The Flash butt welding has fine attachment of rails that leave no fittings. It goes for more than 22 km as one rail till it reaches the next station that leaves no room for shakes and bumpy rides. The sleepers can last for the next 50 years,” Project Manager S. L. Gupta said.
The Indian engineers also provided the railroads with modern technologies such as paved level crossings, switch expansion joints and fan shaped turnouts.
According to S. L. Gupta, the entire Northern Province Railway project. (Medawachchiya to Talaimannar and Omanthai to KKS), including the signalling and six locomotives cost US$ 650 million. “The railway system is of high modern standards and facilities,” he added.
He also stressed that the entire Sri Lanka Railway, which is nearly 1,500 km, constructed during the colonial times, needed upgrading and replacement as the trend has changed, time is valuable and there is a cost involved in time waste.
Gupta also said that the materials such as ballast and stone crushers were from Sri Lanka however, the concrete sleepers, each weighing 259 kg, and rails were imported from India.
He also went on to say the reconstruction of railway line did not acquire additional land or property.
According to engineers, they have employed 3,000 workers directly and indirectly to complete the mission in the North.
New pier
As part of the Northern railway project, a new pier at Talaimannar will also be built to enable resumption of the ferry service between Talimannar and Rameshwaram at an early date. This would enhance connectivity between India and Sri Lanka.
The government, after eradicating terrorism, obtained, as part of India’s commitment to assist Sri Lanka in its rehabilitation, reconstruction and reconciliation efforts, a concessionary Line of Credit (LOC) amounting to about US $ 800 million to undertake the Northern Railway Reconstruction project. The commitment was recorded in the India-Sri Lanka joint Deceleration, issued on June 9, 2010 in New Delhi, when President Mahinda Rajapaksa visited India.
The main components of the project include, rehabilitation of the Northern railway line comprising the Omanthai –Pallai, Pallai- Kakesanthaurai; Medawachchiya-Madu; Madu-Talaimannar and setting up of signaling and telecommunications systems for the Northern railway line from Anuradhapura northwards.
Northern rail link
The Northern rail consists of two components: The Northern line opened in 1894, that begins at Polgahawela and ends at Kakesanthurai – 339km and the Mannar Line, which was opened in 1914 starting at Medawhchchiya and ending at the Talaimannar Pier – 106km.
The most difficult part of the projects were the demining and getting clearance for the high security zone in Mannar to build the bridge. The project delayed a little however, it is nearing completion, the engineers said.
Gupta also said that it was Minister of Economic Development Basil Rajapaksa who intervened to complete the project without any delay.
The Ircon International Ltd, a government of India company, under the Ministry of Railways, was incorporated under the companies Act of 1956 and it is a leading turnkey construction company in infrastructure projects known for its quality, commitment and consistency in terms of performance.
Ircon projects of upgrading the Coastal Railway line from Kalutara–Galle-Matara, was completed ahead of schedule, in two phases.
As for now, we have proposed to undertake implementing the replacement of the Colombo –Kandy railway line, Polghawela –Maho railway line and to complete the Anuradhapura –Omanthai line, said V. K. Jayashankar.
He went on to say that they are even considering to submit a proposal to upgrade the Maho –Batticaloa railway line. Two weeks ago Indian Government was not feeling ‘well’ about how the Government of Sri Lanka received its new phase of railroad opening, the test run from Pallai to Jaffna on September 22, 2014.
Indian High Commissioner Y. K. Sinha claimed they were ‘under-appreciated’ despite having completed their work without delay.
He said “India has committed in Indian Rupees, 9000 crores. In US Dollar terms, 1.6 billion Dollars, as development assistance to Sri Lanka, in the years following the end of the war, in fact even before the war ended in 2009. Out of this, 30% are grants – they are free, they are unattached, they do not have an interest rate and the interest rate does not compound.”
What the High Commissioner said was true. Work needs to be appreciated and not ignored; after all, taking the Line of credit… and he did not mince his words.
Courtesy:Ceylon Today