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29-477: The popular Yarl Devi service, which operates on the Northern Line , calls at this station. In the late 1980s the station suffered heavy damage due to the civil war . All railway services on the Northern Line north of Vavuniya had stopped by 1990. The station was abandoned, suffering further damage in the following years. The civil war ended in 2009 and the government started various projects to rebuild

58-728: A survey of a line to Jaffna . The line would join the Main Line at Polgahawela Junction, allowing trains to run to the capital Colombo . Approval was given in 1892 and the new line to Kurunegala opened on 14 February 1894. Approval was given in December 1897 for the construction of the Northern Railway and an announcement was made in the Legislative Council in October 1899 that authorisation had been given for

87-494: A full battalion strength at the strategic Elephant Pass from 10 July to 9 August 1991 until a relief force that had been led from the sea under Operation Balavegaya broke the siege. Casualties were high and the LTTE had deployed a large force of 5,000 cadres to lay siege to the army base and stop the relief force. LTTE continued to engage the army in small skirmishes and ambushes. The army also launched several limited operations with

116-564: A line of credit provided by the Government of India. The Yal Devi service was ceremoniously declared open by President Mahinda Rajapaksa 13 October 2014. The Yal Devi follows Sri Lanka Railways' Northern Line. The train begins its northbound journey at Colombo Fort . At Polgahawela , the train branches off the Main Line, moving towards Kankesanturai. It passes Kurunegala , the capital of North Western Province , before continuing to

145-529: Is the name given to the second phase of armed conflict between Sri Lankan military and the separatist Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam . The war started after the failure of peace talks between the Premadasa government and the LTTE. This phase of the war was initiated by the LTTE who massacred almost 600 Sinhalese and Muslim police personnel after they were ordered by the Premadasa government to surrender to

174-689: The Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam took over most of the territory the IPKF had controlled, including Jaffna. In the middle of 1990 the truce between the LTTE and Sri Lankan government broke down and full-scale war erupted. Intense fighting took place in and around Jaffna as the Sri Lankan military tried to regain control of the area. Hundreds of civilians fleeing the fighting took refuge in Jaffna Railway Station. The station

203-497: The Northern Line . The line's fortunes waned when the civil war started in 1983 - the government increased the number of soldiers stationed in the north, many of whom used the line to return to their homes in the south. Thus the Yarl Devi service became a target for Tamil militants as it passed through areas they controlled. It was blown up by Tamil Eelam Liberation Organization cadres near Murikandy, Mullaitivu District on

232-570: The Indian state-owned engineering and construction company. The project was to cost US$ 185 million and would be financed by a soft loan from the Indian government . In June 2011 an agreement was signed between Sri Lanka Railways and the Bank of Ceylon for the reconstruction of Jaffna Railway Station. The project was to cost LKR 89 million. In July 2011 it was announced that Ircon had also been awarded

261-876: The LTTE. The background to this attack was seen as a retaliation by the LTTE against Muslims believed to be working as an informers for the government forces in the Eastern region of Sri Lanka, and allegedly for their roles as Home Guards. The Palliyagodella villagers had asked the Sri Lankan military, fearing an attack by the LTTE, for protection. The Sri Lankan forces issued shotguns to the Muslims and Singhalese villagers, which some Muslims used to attack Tamil civilians and LTTE. Because of these incidents in October 1991 in which LTTE militants killed 109 Muslims in Palliyagodella. The 1990 Batticaloa massacre, also known as

290-591: The LTTE. The truce was broken on June 10, 1990, when the LTTE in October expelled all the 28,000 Muslims residing in Jaffna . The Eelam War II, saw the LTTE shifting to conventional warfare tactics with the deployment of large groups of soldiers to first attack isolated Sri Lanka Army detachments of platoon or company strength in the Northern Province such as Kokavil in June and July 1990 where it overran

319-626: The Northern Line extended to Kankesanturai, a port city, with the Yal Devi train from Colombo terminating here. The entire re-construction of the Northern Line (from Omanthai to Kankesanthurai – 146 km) was completed during the latter half of 2014, and it was finally opened to public on 3 January 2015. Eelam War II [REDACTED]   Sri Lanka [REDACTED] Ranasinghe Premadasa (1989–93) [REDACTED] Dingiri Banda Wijetunge (1993–94) Eelam War II

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348-402: The Northern Line since the beginning of the twentieth century, the services were not named. In the 1950s named trains were established on the major lines. The Yal Devi, as a named-express train, was established to connect Colombo, Jaffna, and Kankesanturai, as commissioned by B. D. Rampala , the railways' then-general manager. In 1990, the Yal Devi stopped operating past Vavuniya because of

377-761: The Sathurukondan massacre, was a massacre of at least 184 Tamil refugees from three villages in the Batticaloa District by the Sri Lankan Army on September 9, 1990. According to the Special Presidential Commission of inquiry appointed by the People's Alliance government, 5 infants, 42 children under the age of ten, 85 women and 28 old persons were among the 184 villagers who were murdered. Three captains of

406-449: The Yal Devi connects Colombo , the nation's commercial hub, with the northern cities of Jaffna and Kankesanturai . From 1990 up to 2015, the service had to terminate at intermediate stations, due to the Sri Lankan civil war . The Northern Line was rebuilt and returned to Jaffna Railway Station by October 2014 and Kankesanturai by January 2015. The Yal Devi offers Three classes of travel. Though trains had been operating on

435-493: The aim of drawing out and killing LTTE carders. In August 1992, the military lost several of its senior leaders in a landmine explosion Araly point which killed Major General Denzil Kobbekaduwa and Brigadier Vijaya Wimalaratne , both charismatic field commanders, followed by the assassination of the head of the navy Vice Admiral Clancy Fernando in Colombo by a suicide bomber. In 1993, Sri Lankan President Ranasinghe Premadasa

464-672: The construction of a railway line connecting the north with Colombo. Tenders for the construction of railway line from Kurunegala to Kankesanthurai were called in January 1900 and construction of the new line started at Kurunegala in April 1900. Construction of the 21 miles (34 km) Kankesanthurai- Chavakacheri section, including Jaffna, began in July 1900. This section was officially opened by Governor Sir J. W. Ridgeway on 11 March 1902. The 14 miles (23 km) Chavakacheri- Pallai section

493-504: The contract to reconstruct the 56 kilometres (35 mi) line between Pallai and Kankesanthurai. The project was to cost US$ 150 million and would be financed by a loan from the Export-Import Bank of India . The reconstruction of the entire Northern Line had been expected to be completed by the end of 2013. The line between Omanthai and Kilinochchi was re-opened on 14 September 2013. The line between Kilinochchi and Pallai

522-514: The declining security condition. After the war ended in 2009, work started to rebuild the track and restore the Yal Devi service to Kankesanturai, under the Uthuru Mithuru Project. Initially, the service was extended to Thandikulam, With effect from 13 October 2014 it has been begun services up to newly rebuilt Jaffna railway station after twenty four years. The restoration of northern railway tracks project has been funded by

551-590: The detachment; Mullaitivu September 1990 which was relieved by Operation Sea Breeze the first amphibious operation launched by the Sri Lankan military; while it kept the army garrison at the Jaffna Fort besieged until it was broken by Operation Thrividha Balaya in September 1990. A major change in LTTE tactics came in the First Battle of Elephant Pass in which the LTTE besieged the army garrison of

580-434: The government initiated various projects to rebuild the Northern Line from Vavuniya to Kankesanthurai. The line between Vavuniya and Omanthai was rebuilt by the Sri Lankan military. Thandikulam Railway Station was re-opened on 6 June 2009 and Omanthai Railway Station was re-opened on 27 May 2011. The contract to reconstruct the 96 kilometres (60 mi) line between Omanthai and Pallai was awarded to Ircon International ,

609-426: The historic cultural and religious center of Anuradhapura , the island's ancient capital around the 4th century BCE and home to many sites of religious and archaeological interest. After passing Vavuniya it reaches Omanthai . As of September 2013 the service the train terminated at Kilinochchi . The train used to continue onwards to Jaffna . Jaffna is the main cultural centre of the north of Sri Lanka . From here

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638-443: The line and stations. The Northern Line between Pallai and Jaffna was re-opened on 13 October 2014. In the late 19th century residents in northern British Ceylon started campaigning for the construction of a railway line linking the north to the south. The Jaffna Railway Commission report, published in 1891, recommended the construction of a new railway line (now known as the Northern Line ) from Polgahawela to Kurunegala and

667-529: The next few years the entire track between Kankesanthurai and Vavuniya and abandoned railway coaches were removed by the Sri Lankan military and Tamil rebels for use as bunkers. The Sri Lankan government regained control of most of the Jaffna Peninsula , including Jaffna, in 1995 but no effort was made to rebuild the Northern Line or the stations along it. Following the end of the civil war in May 2009,

696-635: The night of 19 January 1985, killing 34 people including 22 soldiers and destroying the tracks. The service was attacked again on 25 March 1986 between Puliyankulam and Vavuniya. The railway tracks were relaid by the Indian Peace Keeping Force and in August 1987 the Jaffna-Colombo rail services resumed. However, the deteriorating security meant that only a few people used the service. After the IPKF withdrew from Sri Lanka in 1990

725-485: Was assassinated by a LTTE suicide bomber on May Day and LTTE was able to launch two major attacks on army detachments in the Battle of Janakapura and the Battle of Pooneryn , which resulted in major loss of life and equipment for the army. In June 1990, the LTTE eastern cadres, led by then-LTTE Eastern commander Karuna Amman , killed 774 police officers stationed in the Eastern province, after they had surrendered to

754-581: Was bombed by the Sri Lanka Air Force (SLAF) on 9 August 1990, damaging 6 train carriages and killing eight people nearby. The station was bombed to a shell by the SLAF. On 13 June 1990 the Yarl Devi service rolled into Jaffna but it could not return to Colombo as the railway track had been destroyed (it would be the last rail service into Jaffna). The station was bombed again on 16 August 1990. In

783-429: Was introduced on the Northern Line on 23 April 1956, cutting the journey time between Jaffna and Colombo to 7 hours. The service flourished and Jaffna became the second largest station in the country. The Yarl Devi service was the largest revenue earner for Sri Lanka Railways. Eight passenger trains and six freight trains operated daily between Jaffna and Colombo. By the early 1980s six thousand people travelled daily on

812-528: Was opened on 5 September 1902. The Northern Railway line up to Anuradhapura was opened on 1 November 1904 and the construction of the line up to Medawachchiya was completed on 11 March 1905. The construction of the line was completed in the next few months and on 1 August 1905 the first train from Colombo arrived at Jaffna Railway Station. The journey took 13 hours and 20 minutes. The single track line between Kankesanthurai and Vavuniya had 16 stations and 12 sub-stations. An express train called Yarl Devi

841-471: Was re-opened on 4 March 2014. The line between Pallai and Jaffna was re-opened on 13 October 2014. This station is served by six Northern-Line trains, including the Yal Devi, Uttara Devi Intercity, AC Intercity, Night Mail and two unnamed services. Yarl Devi Yal Devi ( Tamil : யாழ் தேவி ; Sinhala : යාල් දේවී ) is a major express train in Sri Lanka . Operated by Sri Lanka Railways ,

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