The upcountry train service

It was reported in the newspapers that the renovation work of the Kandy Railway Station was being carried out to be completed in time for the SAARC Summit to be held in Kandy.

The bottleneck of the up country service is the Peradeniya junction station, which is situated far from the main running line which runs through the loop from Kadugannawa to Gampola.

The branch trains, from Kandy to Peradeniya junction, carrying passengers and goods from the Matale line, to Colombo and other stations are brought to the Peradeniya station and transferred to main trains, causing considerable delay.

There is a level crossing at this station, which too causes delay to trains and road traffic when shunting is done. There was a blueprint a long time ago, to shift the present Peradeniya Station to the site where the Panideniya school stands. Once the small hillock is leveled, the Peradeniya junction station could be shifted to this place, which would eliminate all these delays.

At present, the station master has to walk in rain or sunshine to the loop line stands, to hand over the tablets to trains not calling over at Peradeniya station. To walk down from station to stands causes a delay of at least 6 to 7 minutes. The running time from either station is about 17 mts. When trains follow one another the trains waiting to follow are delayed.

Therefore it is suggested that the shifting of the Peradeniya station be carried out on a priority basis for the smooth running of the upcountry service.