Fort Railway Station (Colombo)

Colombo Fort Railway Station
Platform at Colombo Fort Station
Station statistics
Coordinates	6°56'01.40"N 79°51'03.14"E
Lines	Main Line Coastal Line
Connections	Buses, via Central Bus Stand, Pettah
Tracks	11
Other information
Opened	1899[1]
Electrified	no[2]
Owned by	Sri Lanka Railways
Services
Terminates at Fort: Udarata Menike-to Badulla Podi Menike-to Badulla Tikiri Menike-to Hatton Senkadagala Menike-to Kandy Yal Devi-Was operated to Kankasanthurei via Jaffna (now only up to Omanthai)[dated info] Udaya Devi-to Batticaloa Muthu Kumari-to Puttalam Intermediate stop at Fort: Rajarata Rajina-Vavuniya to Matara via Colombo Fort Ruhunu Kumari-Colombo (Maradana) to Matara via Colombo Fort Samudra Devi-Colombo (Maradana) to Galle, via Colombo Fort Galu Kumari-Colombo (Maradana) to Matara, via Colombo Fort Sagarika-Colombo (Maradana) to Galle, via Colombo Fort

Fort Railway Station is a major rail hub in Colombo, Sri Lanka. The station is served by Sri Lanka Railways, with many inter-city and commuter trains entering each day. Fort Station is the main rail gateway to central Colombo; it is the terminus of most intercity trains in the country.^[3]

History

When the railways first opened in Ceylon (Sri Lanka) in 1864, trains terminated at Colombo Terminus Station, a now-retired station near Maradana. The earliest station to be called Fort was a small station, built in 1877 when the Coast Line was built. This original station sat on the site of present-day Secretariat Halt just west of today's Fort Station.^[4]

The present Fort Station was opened in 1917, as a new central station for Colombo. The station was built on land reclaimed from the Beira Lake. This project was part of a scheme started in 1906 to reorganise the railway within Colombo, where Colombo Terminus Station was closed and replaced by the new Maradana Station. Fort was added in 1917 to serve the city centre.^[4]

Location

Fort Station is in the heart of the city, located next to Colombo Fort and Pettah and close to the meeting points of the A1 and A4 highways.

Fort Station is a couple kilometres away from Maradana Station, the other major rail station in Colombo.

Services

The station is served from the east by the Main line, which leads to several other major routes in Sri Lanka's railway network. Most of these trains terminate at Fort Station. The station is served to the south-west by the Coastal line, leading to Gale and Matara.

Fort station is also a hub for commuter rail within the Colombo metropolis.

Preceding station	Sri Lanka Railways[3]			Following station
Terminus		Yal Devi		Vavuniya
		Udaya Devi		Batticaloa
		Unnamed intercity expresses		Kandy, Batticaloa, Vavuniya, Galle
Terminus		Udarata Menike		Maradana
		Podi Menike		Maradana
		Tikiri Menike		Maradana
		Senkadagala Menike		Maradana
Terminus		Muthu Kumari		Maradana
Bambalapitiya		Rajarata Rajina		Maradana
Bambalapitiya		Ruhunu Kumari		Maradana
		Samudra Devi		Maradana
		Galu Kumari		Maradana
		Sagarika		Maradana
Slave Island		Commuter Rail		Maradana

See also

• Railway stations in Sri Lanka‎
• Rail transport in Sri Lanka
• List of railway stations by line order in Sri Lanka
• Sri Lanka Railways

References

1. ^ "The Island". SLT powers Fort Railway Station nenasala. 2007-05-08. http://www.island.lk/2007/05/08/business17.html. 
2. ^ "Daily News". IESL proposes railway electrification project. 2010-12-25. http://www.dailynews.lk/2010/12/25/bus04.asp. 
3. ^ ^{a b} "Sri Lanka Railways Timetable"
4. ^ ^{a b} Hyatt, D. An Overview of the Development of the Sri Lanka Railway 2009.

Coordinates: 6°56′01″N 79°51′03″E / 6.93361°N 79.85083°E / 6.93361; 79.85083