Tom was keen to catch some trains in Sri Lanka. In two years in India I caught a train once - and that was a never-to-be-repeated experience. But Sri Lanka is not India and we expect the trains to be more comfortable. I certainly hope so - because our first train trip is from Colombo to Jaffna; a seven hour trip.
I am quite excited about this trip, we are travelling through some places well known to me through my work over the years as we will be travelling through Tamil territory and the areas held by the Tamil Tigers throughout the long insurgency.
The train was only re-instated in 2013/2014 after more than 20 years in abeyance. During the war the train did not run and the road trip was long and arduous, mostly because of the need to pass through the security checkpoints: the last 140 kms of the journey from Vavuniya to Jaffna took up to 16 hours to travel by road during the period of the strictest security checking. One reason for the delay in re-establishing the train connection was the need to de-mine after the war. Estimates vary but it is thought up to one million mines were laid in the north and east during the war.
I am quite excited about this trip, we are travelling through some places well known to me through my work over the years as we will be travelling through Tamil territory and the areas held by the Tamil Tigers throughout the long insurgency.
The train was only re-instated in 2013/2014 after more than 20 years in abeyance. During the war the train did not run and the road trip was long and arduous, mostly because of the need to pass through the security checkpoints: the last 140 kms of the journey from Vavuniya to Jaffna took up to 16 hours to travel by road during the period of the strictest security checking. One reason for the delay in re-establishing the train connection was the need to de-mine after the war. Estimates vary but it is thought up to one million mines were laid in the north and east during the war.
All the travel writers tell you to enjoy the experience by travelling in a 2nd class carriage: open windows allowing you to breathe in the air and the full experience. Stuff that: if I am going to be on a train for 7 hours I am going First Class, reserved seat, A/C! So at 4:30 this morning we were picked up by a driver who took us to Fort Station Colombo to catch the early intercity express train.
| Fort Station, Colombo |
Fort Station was busy, even at that time, and I am glad we had researched what to expect, as there was limited signage, no announcements or train information on the platforms and no destination information on the trains themselves.
| 5:30 am, Thursday morning, platform 3 Fort Station, Can you see Tom and I? |
As I write this we have arrived safely after a somewhat jolting journey - our train was one of the newer trains from China, but the tracks are old and we moved about a lot. The journey was easier once we hit the north, presumably the tracks have been relaid since the end of the war. Ok the train was not quite the Japanese Shinkansen experience we enjoyed a couple of years back, but it was on time and a fraction of the cost - we came all this way for about $10 AUD, gosh, I caught a country train in Victoria recently, Melbourne to Birregurra, and that set me back 17 bucks.
| Sri Lanka Railways are concerned for your safety |
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