The railway line between Badulla and Ambewela was damaged by landslides caused by a recent disaster. Because of this, train services were stopped at several places.

After 23 days, train services started again this morning. A special ceremony was held to mark the reopening.

Many local and foreign tourists came to the Badulla Railway Station to join the first journey. The event was attended by Minister Samantha Vidyaratne, Deputy Minister Ruwan Ranasinghe, and other officials.

Before the train left, multi-religious prayers were held. The train then left Badulla at 9 a.m. and travelled towards Ambewela.

When the train reached Demodara, people welcomed it warmly. Foreign tourists were very happy and celebrated the restart of the service. At Ella, local people also welcomed the train with great excitement. Later, the train arrived safely at Ambewela.

At the same time, train services also restarted on the Eastern Railway Line, which was badly damaged by landslides.

At 7 a.m., a passenger train left Trincomalee, passed through Gal Oya and Maha Oya, and travelled to Colombo Fort. This line had been closed since November 27 due to damage.

After 23 days, train services have now started again. The Railway Department said that both passenger and freight trains will now run normally on this line.