Maradana Railway Station

Colombo Maradana Railway Station
Station statistics
Lines	Main Line Coastal Line Kelani Valley Line
Other information
Opened	1908[1]
Electrified	no[2]
Owned by	Sri Lanka Railways
Services
Terminates at Maradana: Ruhunu Kumari-to Matara Samudra Devi-to Galle Galu Kumari-to Matara Sagarika-to Galle Intermediate stop at Maradana: Udarata Menike-Colombo Fort to Badulla, via Maradana Podi Menike-Colombo Fort to Badulla, via Maradana Tikiri Menike-Colombo Fort to Hatton, via Maradana Senkadagala Menike-Colombo Fort to Kandy, via Maradana Rajarata Rajina-Vavuniya to Matara via Colombo Maradana Yal Devi-Was operated to Kankasanthurei via Jaffna (now only up to Omanthai)[dated info] Udaya Devi-to Batticaloa Muthu Kumari-to Puttalam Commuter Rail- within Colombo

Maradana 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. It is the terminus of several intercity trains.^[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. In 1906, a project was launched to reorganise the railway within the Colombo area. Colombo Terminus Station was closed and replaced by the new Maradana Station.^[1]

Fort Railway Station was opened in 1917, as a new central station for Colombo.^[1] Today, Maradana and Fort are the primary rail gateways to Colombo.

Location

Maradana Station is in Maradana, located next to the Elphinstone Theatre and near the Maradana Railway Yards. Colombo Fort Station is a couple kilometres away from Maradana Station.

Features

Maradana Station features a two-storey building housing the ticket office, waiting room, and Sri Lanka Railways offices. A footbridge leads to the platforms.^[4]

Services

The station is served from the north-east by the Main line, which leads to several other major routes in Sri Lanka's railway network. To the south-east of the station, the Kelani Valley Line connects Maradana with many other area of Colombo. The station is served to the west by the Coastal line, leading to Gale and Matara. Most of these Coastal-line trains terminate at Maradana Station.

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

Preceding station	Sri Lanka Railways			Following station
Terminus		Ruhunu Kumari		Colombo Fort
		Samudra Devi		Colombo Fort
		Galu Kumari		Colombo Fort
		Sagarika		Colombo Fort
Ragama		Muthu Kumari		Colombo Fort
Ragama		Rajarata Rajina		Colombo Fort
Ragama		Udarata Menike		Colombo Fort
		Podi Menike		Colombo Fort
		Tikiri Menike		Colombo Fort
		Senkadagala Menike		Colombo Fort
Baseline Road		Kelani Valley Line		Terminus
Dematagoda		Commuter Rail		Colombo Fort

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. ^ ^{a b c} Hyatt, D. An Overview of the Development of the Sri Lanka Railway 2009.
2. ^ "Daily News". IESL proposes railway electrification project. 2010-12-25. http://www.dailynews.lk/2010/12/25/bus04.asp. 
3. ^ "Sri Lanka Railways Timetable"
4. ^ Cave, Henry. "The Ceylon government railway: a descriptive and illustrated guide..." London: Cassell and Company, Limited. approx. 1910. http://books.google.com/books?id=GzwdAQAAMAAJ&pg=PA31&lpg=PA31&dq=colombo+terminus+station&source=bl&ots=wcsJvT6NgG&sig=Mj4tRpSY5z7KC_-w7CZchxvBMe0&hl=en&ei=mUrHTsLpMsnf0QGs1rgs&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=5&sqi=2&ved=0CD0Q6AEwBA#v=onepage&q=colombo%20terminus%20station&f=false