Train services between Colombo Fort, Peradeniya and Gampola on the Upcountry Line will resume from October 2, Sri Lanka Railways announced on Monday, restoring a route severed by Cyclone Ditwah.
The scale of the damage
Sri Lanka Railways said 103 locations between Rambukkana and Gampola were damaged, including 36 major landslides and 67 earth slips and rock falls, with sections of track washed away.
Restoration was complicated by the Rambukkana–Kadugannawa section, the steepest gradient on the network. Crews had no alternative road access to much of the affected line, meaning repair machinery and materials had to be carried in exclusively by rail. Adverse weather added further delay.
The work was carried out by the railway’s Way and Works Department together with the National Building Research Organisation (NBRO), which certified the track as safe for operations.
The restored timetable
Regular services resume from the afternoon of October 2:
- Intercity No. 1029 — departs Colombo Fort 3.35 p.m., arrives Peradeniya 5.56 p.m.
- No. 1035 — departs Colombo Fort 4.35 p.m., arrives Gampola 7.51 p.m.
- No. 1037 — departs Colombo Fort 5.15 p.m., arrives Peradeniya 7.53 p.m.
Morning return services begin October 3:
- No. 1030 — Peradeniya 6.25 a.m., Colombo Fort 8.44 a.m.
- No. 1038 — Peradeniya 4.40 a.m., Colombo Fort 7.12 a.m.
- No. 1040 — Gampola 4.35 a.m., Colombo Fort 8.06 a.m.
The Podi Menike Express (Nos. 1005 and 1006) also returns to daily operation from October 3, leaving Colombo Fort at 5.55 a.m. for Peradeniya at 8.34 a.m. and Gampola at 9.06 a.m., with the return departing Gampola at 4.10 p.m. and reaching Colombo Fort at 7.23 p.m.
Context
The reopening is a partial restoration. Services beyond Gampola towards Badulla are not covered by Monday’s announcement, and the line to Kandy has been the subject of a separate recovery programme, with officials saying earlier this year that trains to Kandy were expected by the end of 2026 once repairs at 97 identified sites were completed.
Ada Derana also reported the resumption; its site was unreachable at the time of writing.
Update, September 29: Hiru News has filed its own account of the announcement, repeating the damage figures — 103 damaged locations between Rambukkana and Gampola, 36 major landslides, 67 earth slips and rock falls — along with the same train numbers and departure times. It adds no new detail, but corroborates the announcement from a second verified newsroom.
Update, October 2 — services have resumed. Trains are running between Colombo, Peradeniya and Gampola from today, as scheduled.
The Daily Mirror reported on Friday morning that Railway Transport Superintendent Asanka Samarasinghe confirmed services from Colombo to Peradeniya and Gampola would recommence from today. He put the length of the closure at approximately 10 months — the first time a figure has been attached to the suspension, which began after Cyclone Ditwah.
Hiru News sets today’s reopening in the sequence of a phased recovery: services had already been restored from Ambewela to Badulla, and from Colombo Fort to Rambukkana, before this segment reopened. Today’s resumption closes the Rambukkana–Gampola gap that had severed the two working ends of the line from each other.
Neither report says when services beyond Gampola towards Badulla will run through, or whether the restored section carries any speed restriction over the repaired slips.
