Uthuru Mithuru Friendship Railway
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Proposal for the North-South Friendship Railway (Not So FaR) Uthuru Mithuru Friendship Railway Amal S. Kumarage 15 th February 2009 Impacts of Terrorism • One of the first casualties of terrorism was the severance of linkages by the terrorists between the north and the south as early as xxxxxxxx. Despite several repairs to track and bridges the line was permanently closed after the xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx. The A9 road that connects the Jaffna peninsula and the northern part was also closed after terrorists overran townships along the roadway around xxxx. • With the severance of the once popular land transport linkages, people in the north and in the south were forced to take air transport or sea transport which were always either too expensive or too time consuming, besides been more riskier as well. Gradually linkages between the north and south reduced to a bear minimum and the different communities became strangers. With both rail and roadways fully or partially closed for around two decades, the once close communities became distant and suspect. With nearly one whole generation having ever been to the south or having met each other socially, the terrorist were able to sow seeds of a monstrous enemy and recruit many young fighters for their cause. Pre-requisite for Peace and Development • The restoration of land transport is thus one of the first and necessary pre-requisites for lasting peace between communities. The restoration of the once popular trading linkages, pilgrimages to Kataragama by people in the north and to Naga Deepa by people in the south are essential building blocks for learning to trust each other. However, the restoration of the land transport link should also be seen as a pivotal investment in reviving the long battered economic condition of the northern areas. Basically, except for a few buildings in towns such as Killinochchi and in Jaffna in recent years. Hardly any infrastructure has been up graded or built anew. In most rural areas whatever infrastructure was there is destroyed. It is therefore necessary to ensure that the re-building of the railways follows the basic principles of regional development and provides for the rapid economic growth and social development of the region. North-South Friendship Railway (Not So FaR) The Government of Sri Lanka (GoSL) expects to launch this program on the 23 rd of April 2009, exactly 53 years after the Yaal Devi the popular train to Jaffna was first operated in 1956. The GoSL expects to make this a flagship project for rebuilding the country through rebuilding the vital North-South Friendship Railway (Not So FaR) by making early plans for immediate construction to follow securing the northern areas. Vision Rebuild the country by rebuilding the railway together Goal To build a modern railway line that will provide fast, reliable connections for both passenger and goods transport between the northern parts of the country that have for two decades been alienated, with the south and to lay the basic building blocks for integrated transport solutions for socio-economic development of the northern province. Canadian Pacific Railway Canada's very existence depended upon the finishing completion of the major civil engineering project, the creation of a transcontinental railway. Creation of the Canadian Pacific Railway was a task originally undertaken for a combination of reasons by the Conservative government of Prime Minister Sir John A. Macdonald . The Province of British Columbia had insisted upon a transport link to the east as a condition for joining the Confederation of Canada . The government however, proposed to build a railway linking the Pacific province to the eastern provinces within ten years of July 20, 1871. Macdonald also saw it as essential to the creation of a unified Canadian nation that would stretch across the continent. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Canadian_Pacific_Railway#Buil ding_the_railway.2C_1881.E2.80.931885 Strategy • The GoSL will adopt a strategy that will adopt sound planning and engineering methodologies to ensure a state-of- the-art railway line well placed to serve regional development potential, built expeditiously and efficiently with the maximum possible participation of different stakeholders while subscribing to the highest norms of transparency and accountability to all people. This will include the following efforts: – Break up of the line length of approximately 160 km (252 km to 411 km) in to 10 sections of approximately 16 km length for purpose of rebuilding the track and to seek foreign funding for each of these sections. – The GoSL will construct the first section from Vavuniya with its own funds. – Signalling and communication to be funded separately (?) – Each station to be planned as a transport and logistics hub integrating passenger and supply chain activities from the surrounding rural areas as well to provide a strong core for rapid development of these townships. – Each station and bus terminal to be built by different communities from the south of Sri Lanka under a possible twinning program of two townships from north and south. – Construction to commence from both KKS and Vavuniya so that there would be a symbolic ‘last peg’ in Pallai where the original track constructed from both ends met in 1905. (?) Early History of the Northern Line The report of the Jaffna Railway Commission on a railway line to Jaffna was published in 1891. It recommended immediate construction of a line from Polgahawela to Kurunegala and a survey of a line to Jaffna. The Kurunegala extension was approved in 1892 and opened on February 14, 1894. The light broad gauge line reached Maho in 1899 and reached Anuradhapura on November 1, 1904. The Northern Line was initiated by the building of the line from Anuradhapura to Madawachchiya and Vavuniya and then through the wilderness of the Vanni, crossing into the Jaffna peninsula at Elephant Pass. Meanwhile in 1902, the building of the Northern Line had also commenced from the other end, on the Jaffna peninsula. The line linking KKS, Jaffna and Pallai was opened in 1902, initially from KKS to Chavakachcheri and through to Pallai. Pallai was reached also from the south and the Northern Line was complete on 1st of August 1905. The creation of the Northern line acted as a catalyst for social change. It linked communities, ended the isolation of Jaffna, broke down social tradition, caste prejudices, and also spread new ideas and customs. For the first time newspapers from Colombo were available to all, which helped to increase the reading habits of the people and broaden their outlook. This also led to the growth of education, since people in Jaffna could send their children to Colombo or vice versa. Railway Operation before the Conflict • The railway before the conflict was operating the following number of train services daily: – Night Mail – 02 trains – Express Trains – 04 trains – Mail Trains – 02 trains – Goods trains – 06 (including oil trains) – Local trains – 16 (between KKS and Killinochchi) – Special Train – on Weekends. – One Intercity (1984/85) The railway was maintaining travel times between 6 ½ to 12 hours for these trains between Colombo and Jaffna. For example in 1988, an Express Train which left Fort Railway station in Colombo at 545 hours reached Jaffna at 1445 hours. Mail Trains took longer. The Intercity Express which operated for a short period in 1984/85 had just a few stops en route was scheduled for 6 ½ hours. Road Transport in the pre-conflict period took around 10 hours. However with the planned expressways it is likely to be reduced to around 3 ½ hours to Anuradhapura and with the restoration of the A9 to a standard 2 lane highway road transport will take around 7 hours to reach Jaffna. How fast should the new railway operate? • Hence rail speeds in order to be competitive has to be designed for travel within 6 ½ maximum. This is possible with the alignment which exists now and can be achieved with heavy rail of 60 kg/metre, seamless rail and thick ballast. Inter-modalism for the New Railways • One of the key roles of the new railway line would be to contribute towards transport efficiency by providing inter-modal facilities at its stations. The nearly 400 km length makes it a preferred mode of transport by rail as opposed to road for both passenger and goods transport. Therefore all stations should be designed to fully integrate hinterland access for both passengers and goods. Such stations would also be ideal for location of supply chain centres which would have packaging, processing activities. Another service for stations between Killinochchi and KKS would be the commuter traffic to and from Jaffna. • In the pre -conflict days there were a total of 16 local train operations within this section of line. Thus the railway could be developed as a commuter mode whereby both Jaffna and Kilinochci can be strategically developed as two commercial and administrative centres by providing for integrated bus transport to stations along the line as well as by providing facilities such as park and ride for bicycles, motor bicycles etc. This line could also be used by school children and university students living in these townships to attend their schools or campuses by train. • Moreover, there are two ports at KKS and Point Pedro that can provide regional and coastal shipping services. Of these KKS is directly accessible by train and thus this station could be fully integrated with the port so that container shipments could be moved between rail and ship. • In addition the airport at Palali is also located around 3 kms from the KKS station. This also could be integrated to promote intermodal travel by tourists, officials and businessmen who could take the train to and from the airport to Jaffna other suburban town centres such as Chavakachcheri.