Scenic route
Sri Lanka Main Line
Colombo → Badulla · Sri Lanka
Through tea country over the Nine Arches Bridge: many call Kandy to Ella the world’s most beautiful ride.
How this line was checked
- Line drawn from OpenStreetMap relation 12988160 — the same nodes OpenStreetMap holds for this railway, thinned to within 102 m of them
- Checked against OpenStreetMap: the whole line lies on real track, a median 28 m from it
- The operator publishes this line's timetable: Sri Lanka Railways — a place to look it up, not a check of our drawing
- Wikipedia has an article for this line
- See for yourself: open this line on the map with OpenStreetMap's own railway drawn underneath it
Questions and answers
How long is the Sri Lanka Main Line?
The Sri Lanka Main Line runs 292 km from Colombo to Badulla.
How long does the Sri Lanka Main Line take?
The fastest scheduled journey is ≈ 10 h for the 292 km. That is an average of 29 km/h end to end. The line's top service speed is 60 km/h.
Who runs the Sri Lanka Main Line?
Sri Lanka Railways, with Class S12, observation car.
How old is the Sri Lanka Main Line?
The line has been in service since 1924. That is the year the atlas dates it from: for a modern brand running over an older railway, it is the railway's date, not the brand's.
More scenic routes
- Glacier Express
“The world’s slowest express”: 291 bridges, 91 tunnels and the 2,033 m Oberalp Pass at an average of 36 km/h.
Wikipedia ↗ - Bernina Express
A UNESCO World Heritage railway: 7 % grades with no rack, the Brusio spiral, and the highest rail crossing of the Alps at 2,253 m.
Wikipedia ↗ - Bergensbanen
Northern Europe’s highest main line: over the bare Hardangervidda plateau at 1,237 m, through 182 tunnels.
Wikipedia ↗ - West Highland Line
Regularly voted the world’s most scenic railway: around Rannoch Moor and over the 21-arch Glenfinnan Viaduct of film fame.
Wikipedia ↗
More train routes in Sri Lanka.