Uttara Devi commences maiden journey to Jaffna from Colombo

The ‘Uttara Devi’ train commenced its maiden journey this morning from the Fort Railway Station to Kankesanthurai Station in Jaffna.

President Maithripala Sirisena flagged off the new train during a ceremony and Minister of Transport and Civil Aviation Arjuna Ranatunga and Indian High Commissioner Taranjit Singh Sandhu were also present.

The President and High Commissioner travelled on board the train for some time, while Minister continued till Jaffna.

The train set consists of 06 compartment – two of which are air-conditioned – and can carry 724 passengers.

The train (self-propelled Diesel Multiple Unit-DMU) was procured under Indian concessional financing by Sri Lanka Railways.

The ceremony was also attended by Secretary to the Ministry of Transport and Civil Aviation L.P. Jayampathy, General Manager of Sri Lanka Railways M.J. D. Fernando, Chairman and Managing Director of M/s RITES Ltd., Rajeev Mehrotra.

Video by Danushka

DMU manufactured by M/s RITES Ltd. is a thirteen-coach train set. The train set has best-in-class passenger amenities with fully rotating seats in the Air-Conditioned Chair Cars, on-board Infotainment system, GPS-based passenger information system and modular interiors. It can travel at a maximum speed of 120 kmph. It will offer both comfort and speed to passengers, as a next level of the travel experience, the Indian High Commission said.

The contract agreement for the supply of 6 DMUs and 10 locomotives to the Sri Lanka Railways has signed between M/s RITES Ltd., India and Sri Lanka Railways in March 2017.

The total contract is worth around US$ 100 million and is financed under Indian concessional financing. The first set of DMU arrived in Sri Lanka in December 2018 ahead of schedule and is now being commissioned into Sri Lanka Railways after completion of trial runs. The supply of rest of DMUs and locomotives will be complete during the course of this year.

In addition, 50 wagons are also being supplied to Sri Lanka railways under Indian concessional financing which will also be delivered this year. 500 buses will also be supplied to Sri Lanka under Indian concessional financing, according to the Indian High Commission.