කොළඹ මහනුවර දුම්රියට පාර කැපූ බරකරත්ත - Colombo to Kandy train history

During the colonial period of Sri Lanka, export goods including coffee were transported to Colombo by carts. But cartage did not fulfill the expectations of the plantation industry. The British were not able to achieve maximum results due to the long time taken and safety issues for transporting goods by carts, as well as wastage and damage during carting.Cattle fell ill from time to time and during heavy rains there were severe obstacles to the transportation of goods. Because of this, it has been proposed for some time to start a railway service to bring plantation related products to Colombo. A discussion was first held in this regard in 1845 during the administration of Governor Colin Campbell. But building a railway from the mountain country to the lower country was not easy. Nevertheless, as a result of the demands of the plantation owners in Sri Lanka, it was proposed to build a railway line from Colombo to Kandy. For that, a company named "Lanka Railway Company" was registered in London, England in October of 1845. After that, several discussions were held between the colonial government and the Ceylon Railway Company in this regard. But most of the discussions were limited to mere words. For a decade, ideas related to railways were exchanged like this. In 1855, Sir Henry Ward became the Governor of Lakdi. He worked with great determination to build a railway line to Sri Lanka. For that, the British government, the Ceylon Railway Company and the planters coordinated well and made a strong effort for this. An experienced engineer, Mr. W.S. Moorsom was also brought from England to Sri Lanka and made the necessary measurements and gave a report.As a result, on the initiative of Sir Henry Ward, on August 3, 1858, the first sod was ceremonially cut to build the railway from Colombo to Kandy. It is in the area near the Maligawatta railway yard, which is now known as Loko Junction. After the cutting of the sod, it became clear that more money than Mr. Moorsam's estimated cost could be spent on the construction of the railway track. The "Lanka Railway Company" was dissolved in 1961 due to a difference of opinion between the railway company and the colonial government. From then on all the work came under the control of the colonial government. Then tenders were called in London for the construction of a railway line in Sri Lanka and those tenders were brought here and sent to INW. Mr. Frederic Faville's application was selected. Mr. Faville brought in engineers and administrators from England and laborers from India and started the construction of the railway. The first steam locomotive was brought to Sri Lanka on January 19, 1864 for the transportation of goods needed for future road works.By August of the same year, Mr. Frederic Faville managed to complete the construction of the 34-mile railway line to Ambepussa. Human labor was mostly used for that. It is surprising in a way that the railroad was built this far in a short period of time using human labor. The colonial government organized the first train journey in Sri Lanka for the Belgian Crown Prince Babrant, who was visiting Ceylon at that time. Accordingly, on Tuesday, December 27, 1864, the first train in the history of Sri Lanka's railways was run. It was from the Colombo Terminal Railway Station in the premises of the Railway Museum, which is now located near the railway headquarters. On 02 October 1865, Sri Lanka's first passenger train ran from Colombo Antaya Railway Station to Ambepussa. Later, the railway line to Kandy was quickly built due to the keen interest of the plantation owners. By the end of April 1867, the railway line was completed to Kandy by building basements through the gorges. On the first day of August 1867, the first passenger train ran from Colombo to Kandy.