Ceylon railway history pdf

History the railway was initially built to transport coffee and tea from the hill country to colombo for export, and transporting such goods was the main source of income on the line for many years. The sri lanka railway, originally known as ceylon government railways, was conceived in the 1850s as an instrument to develop and unify sri lanka. Welcome to the official facebook page of ceylon railway, the perfect sri lanka railways information portal for you. History rail was introduced in sri lanka in 1864 to transport coffee from plantations in the hill country district of kandy to the port city of colombo on its way to europe and the world market. Ceylon had a new governor, viscount torrington, whose only qualification for the job, said his political enemy benjamin disraeli, was that he had once been a director of a railway company. History of ceylon from the earliest period to 1816. It is also the name of villages in pennsylvania and ohio. Sri lanka transportation rehabilitation project railways report. Read pages 104110 of the pdf version of this publication pages 7783 of the original text and make a list of the reasons why tea was a better crop for planters in ceylon, regardless of the coffee blight. When the netherlands came under french control, the british began to move into sri lanka from india. Indian railways is known to be the largest railway network in asia. A near copy with minor wear to the boards have minor wear with clean unmarked page. There are 951 miles of railway, and of these 834 are broad gauge 5 ft 6in and 117 narrow gauge 2 ft 6in. The sri lanka railway department more commonly known as sri lanka railways slr.

With time and population growth, however, passenger traffic increased. History of ceylon through pictures by ravindra ranasinha this document on sri lanka could be used as a resource in the history class. Rail transport in ceylon railway wonders of the world. This intercity train scheduled to begin its journey at 15. The ceylon railway company was formed and the first survey for the line was prepared in 1846. The earliest human remains found on the island of sri lanka date to about 34,000 years ago balangoda man. The ceylon railway company was incorporated in britain in 1847. However, it was not until 1861 when the government took over the project and formed the ceylon government railway cgr and contracted with a briton, w f faviell, who had previously built a railway in india, that the project became reality. The golden age of ceylon railways was from 1955 to 1970 under the management of b. Sri lanka railway department, branded sri lanka railways, is a key department of the sri lankan government under the ministry of transport with a history that begins in 1858. Ceylon railways a history history, train travel and. The ceylon railway companycrc was formed as a joint stock company in 1847 to.

The british east india companys conquest of sri lanka, which the british called ceylon, occurred during the wars of the french revolution 17921801. The portuguese arrived in the early 16th century, followed by the dutch in the 17th century with the british, as usual, arriving late 1796 when the british east india company established control. Ceylon following earlier settlements by the dutch and portuguese, the british colony of ceylon was established in 1802 but it was not until the annexation of the kingdom of kandy in 1815 that the entire island came under british control. Einsenbahn in sri lanka, railway in sri lanka exporail carriage attached to a train inside a 3rd class passenger car of sri lanka railways class s10 commuter train. Sri lanka, formerly ceylon, island country lying in the indian ocean and separated from peninsular india by the palk strait. Sri lanka has had a continuous record of human settlement for more than two millennia, and its civilization has been shaped largely by that of the indian subcontinent. World history of tea american institute for sri lankan studies. All sri lanka train timetablecolombo fort railway station. The ceylon railway companycrc was formed as a joint stock company in 1847 to establish and operate a railway line from colombo to kandy.

Sep 17, 20 t his site contains pictures of old ceylon, including pictures of the ceylon government railway cgr during the early days. In dec 1856 captain w s moorsom, chief engineer of the corps of royal engineers was instructed by the governor of ceylon, sir henry george ward, to undertake a survey and produce a report on the provision of a rail link from. Banyan tree colpetty kollupitiya kollupitiya is a major city in colombo, sri lanka. The early chola rulers were karikala cholas who ruled in the second century an. Sri lanka railways, or ceylon government railway, was conceived in the 1850s as an instrument to develop and unify the country. However, when compared with many other developing countries in the region, though ceylon railways has 150 years of long history, current level of service, and working facilities are not at a. The indian railways network binds the social, cultural and economical fabric. Torrington was so tactless and contemptuous of others that he even managed to alienate many of the european residents. Service began in 1864, with the construction of the main line from colombo to ambepussa, 54 kilometers to the east. In the year 2018 also, sri lanka railways slr, provided its continuous service. The railway was initially built in ceylon then with the intension of transportion of tea and coffee from hill country to colombo. In 1856 a provisional agreement was signed between the government of ceylon and the ceylon railway company to lay the line from colombo to kandy at a reduced cost of 800,000 sterling pounds.

It has helped the economic life of the country and helped in accelerating the development of industry and agriculture. The companys engineer thomas drane, made a preliminary survey in 1846, and he proposed three alternative routes to kandy. Sri lanka railways formerly cgr ceylon government railway operates the nations rail network linking colombo the commercial capital of sri lanka and many population centres and tourist destinations. Rampala, chief mechanical engineer and later general manager of the ceylon government railway. The 1st sod of the sri lanka railways was cut by sir henry ward, the governor, in august in1858. Guilford lindsey molesworth, the first chief engineer, became director general of the government railway. Ceylon acquired an extensive and largely broad gauge railway system during its years as a british colony and most of the system survives today, albeit in a rather run down state. Sri lanka german railway technical training center. The planters became alarmed at the prohibitive cost and wanted a fresh survey done. Performance report of the department of sri lanka railway for the. Ceylon, which contains the largest population of any single government in our colonial empire, is an island in the indian ocean, lying southeast of the madras presidency, its northern extremity, which overlaps cape comorin by about two degrees, forming the gulf of manaar, at the northern point of which the island of ceylon is separated from india by the paumban channel, the island of. This book is the first comprehensive history of the railways of ceylon sri lanka and fills an important gap in the railway history map. By 1834, great britain not including its colonies was importing 40 million pounds of tea annually from china, but there were many trade disputes between the two countries, which led to the british mounting what became known as the opium wars 18391842 and 18561860, which china lost.

The main reason for building a railway system in ceylon was to transport tea and coffee from the hill country to colombo. The dutch, after a halfhearted resistance, surrendered the island in 1796. However, when compared with many other developing countries in the region, though ceylon railways has 150 years of long history, current level. This paper takes the train as a form of social compact in which.

Thanks for reading old sri lanka making of railway tracks. The coffee blight of 1871 destroyed many a fine plantation and tea replaced coffee. The great chronicle of ceylon 1912 download pdf 43mb the mahavamsam download tamil translation chapter 7 pdf 1. E and has a maximum length of 268 miles 432 km and a maximum width of 9 miles 224 km. The indian railways have been a great integrating force for more than 150 years. The following map shows the rail network in sri lanka. Service began in 1864, with the construction of the main line from. The island was unified in 1815 previously there had been three kingdoms and the island finally gained its independence in 1948. Elphinstone, tower hall theatres and maradana railway station are located about 150 meters m from.

Ceylon railways a history history, train travel and railways. It was to be responsible for building a railway line across sri lanka formerly ceylon for use by planters. World history of tea american institute for sri lankan. The islands two major ethnic groups, the sinhalese and the tamils, and its two dominant religions, buddhism and hinduism, made their way to the island from india, and indian influence pervaded. Rail was introduced in sri lanka in 1864 to transport coffee from plantations in the hill country district of kandy to the port city of colombo on its way to europe and the world market. In 1948, ceylon became a selfgoverning state and a.

A small batch of teaseeds, sent from assam in india, was sown. Mar 12, 2015 history of ceylon through pictures by ravindra ranasinha this document on sri lanka could be used as a resource in the history class. Emphasising punctuality and comfort, rampala led upgrades to major railway stations outside colombo and the rebuilding of track in the eastern province to facilitate. From the colombo fort which is the central railway station travelers can take their. Irfca indian railway history ceylon railway company. During the first half of the 20th century a tram system operated in colombo, carrying commuters within the city. The rail network was introduced by the british colonial government in 1864. Search the history of over 431 billion web pages on the internet. Its history, people, commerce, industries and resources did have short chapters on information for travellers and colombos principal sights, it also had sections on street lighting in colombo and valuable timbers in ceylon, so the intended audience. Rail transport in sri lanka was conceived in the 1850s to develop and unify sri lanka. A picturesque scene on the south coast line of the ceylon government railways. The name kollupitiya comes from the name of a chief from kandy who had unsuccessfully attempted to dethrone the last king of. The history of sri lanka is intertwined with the history of the broader indian subcontinent and the surrounding regions, comprising the areas of south asia, southeast asia and indian ocean.

The service began with a 54kilometre 34 mi main line connecting colombo and ambepussa. The railways share of sri lankas transportation volume, both passengers and freight, was decreasing in the 1980s as a result of the following factors. The posthistories of a sri lankan railway line article pdf available in modern asian studies 4601. History rail was introduced in sri lanka in 1864 to transport coffee from plantations in the hill country district of kandy to the port city of. See more ideas about wwii, contemporary history and short sunderland. Railways of old ceylon t he sri lanka railway, originally known as ceylon government railways, was conceived in the 1850s as an instrument to develop and unify sri lanka. This photograph shows a section of the 5 ft 6in gauge doubletrack line running through typical scenery near mount lavinia. India railways east indian railway 280 steam locomotive nr. The chola dynasty ad 85010 this tamil dynasty ruled over tamilnadu and parts of karnataka with tanjore as their cafeital. During the first half of the 20th century a tram system operated in. Ceylon now sri lanka in 1795 was in the hands of the dutch, who had ruled it for about 15o years since throwing out the island. Colombo fort railway station time table following are the lists of all the trains starts from and pass through colombo fort railway station which is center of the sri lanka railway network. A descriptive and illustrated guide mainly extracted from the authors larger work the book of ceylon by cave, henry w and a great selection of related books, art and collectibles available now at.

In december 1839, just a year or more before maurices arrival in ceylon, experiments were being made in the royal botanic gardens at peradeniya, just outside kandy. Ceylon acquired an extensive and largely broad gauge railway system during its years as a british colony and most of the system survives today, albeit. Sri devie intercity express train runs daily between colombo fort to kankesanthurai railway station and its service from 5 th september, 2019. Free download historic books of sri lanka ceylon pdf format.

In 1845, the ceylon railway company crc was established in england, under the chairmanship of philip anstruther, for the building of a railway in sri lanka, first up to kandy, in fulfilment of the wishes of the planters. The story of britains acquisition of ceylon, one of the strangest in the history of imperial expansion is a classic example of how intrigue can be at times more effective than force in achieving a national objective. Service began in 1864, with the construction of the main line from colombo to ambepussa 54 kilometres 34 mi to the east. There are several pictures of the kadugannawa incline during construction and also a picture of a narrow gauge beyer garratt locomotive from the udu pussellawa railway upr. The empire and the centuryceylon wikisource, the free. Sri lanka, ceylon lanka, all about sri lanka, provinces, districts, government offices, private sector, hospitals, roads with general travel information and places to travel.