Sri Lanka

Sri Lanka (/sriːˈlɑːŋkə, -ˈlæŋkə/ or ⁱ/ʃriː-/;Sinhalese - ශ්‍රී ලංකාව, Tamil Ilaṅkai), officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka and known from the beginning of British colonial rule until 1972 as Ceylon (/sᵻˈlɒnˌ seɪ-ˌ siː-/), is an island country in South Asia near south-east India.

Sri Lanka has maritime borders with India to the northwest and the Maldives to the southwest. Its documented history spans 3,000 years, with evidence of pre-historic human settlements dating back to at least 125,000 years. Its geographic location and deep harbours made it of great strategic importance from the time of the ancient Silk Road through to World War II.

A diverse and multicultural country, Sri Lanka is home to many religions, ethnic groups, and languages. In addition to the majority Sinhalese, it is home to large groups of Sri Lankan and Indian Tamils, Moors, Burghers, Malays, Kaffirs and the aboriginal Vedda. Sri Lanka has a rich Buddhist heritage, and the first known Buddhist writings of Sri Lanka, the Pāli Canon, dates back to the Fourth Buddhist council in 29 BC. The country's recent history has been marred by a thirty-year civil war which decisively ended when Sri Lankan military defeated Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam in 2009.

Sri Lanka Railways

Sri Lanka Railway Department, branded "Sri Lanka Railways" (SLR), is Sri Lanka's railway owner and primary operator. It is a key department of the Sri Lankan Government, under the Ministry of Transport, with a history that begins in 1858. Sri Lanka Railways (formerly CGR – Ceylon Government Railway) operates the nation's rail network linking Colombo - the commercial capital of Sri Lanka - and many population centres and tourist destinations.

Overview

Presently the Sri Lankan Railway network consists of 1,508 kilometres with 5 ft 6 in (1,676 mm) broad gauge. The narrow gauge lines were 2 ft 6 in (762 mm). The railway contains some of the most magnificent scenic rail routes in the world. Particularly the Main Line winding through both natural beauties such as waterfalls, natural forest mountains, misty peaks and precipices, as well as man made festoons such as tea estates, pine forests and engineering feats including bridges and peak level stations.

History

Beginnings

The railway network was introduced by the British colonial government in 1864. The main reason for building a railway system in Ceylon was to transport tea and coffee from the hill country to Colombo. Initially the service began with the Main Line of 54 kilometres connecting Colombo and Ambepussa.Sir Guilford Lindsey Molesworth became the first chief engineer and later Director General of the government railways. During this time, many Ceylonese people referred to the trains as the Anguru Kaka Wathura Bibi Duwana Yakada Yaka (the coal-eating, water-drinking, sprinting, metal devils).