Jaffna-Kankasanthurai rail track restored by IRCON in North Sri Lanka inaugurated

18 kilometer long Jaffna-Kankasanthurai rail track in North Sri Lanka was inaugurated on 2 January 2015 by Sri Lanka’s Transport Minister Kumara Welgama. To mark the inauguration, famous Yal Devi Express was flagged off.

The restoration work of the commercial rail service covering a distance of 18 kilometers has been completed by Indian Railway’s construction company (IRCON).

The track corridor has two crossing stations at Kondavil and Chunnakam and five halt stations at Kokuvil, Inuvil, Mallakam, Tellipalai and Mavittapuram.

The rail track that connects Colombo and Kankesanthurai passes through the high security zone which was freed from the Tamil Tigers in 2009.

The complete 252 km railway track will be completed by IRCON in collaboration with Sri Lanka Railways in four segments of which three have been completed and are operational. The fourth segment will be completed by March 2015. Three completed segments covering a distance of 215 kilometer track length include
• Omanthai to Jaffna - 129 km
• Medawachchiya to Thiruketheeswaram - 69km
• Jaffna to Kankasanthurai - 18 km

Fourth segment will cover 37 km long stretch between Thiruketheeswaram and Talai Mannar Pier.

India is rebuilding the 252 km railway track on this route by providing a line of credit of 800 million US dollars. In late 1980s, the entire rail line between Colombo and the North was destroyed by the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) during the prolonged ethnic war conflict.