Yal Devi train restarts tomorrow

The famous north-bound Yal Devi train restarts its journey carrying passengers to Jaffna yesterday after a 24-year gap.

President Mahinda Rajapaksa opened the Northern Railway Line up to Jaffna on Monday.The President joined the inaugural drive as a special passenger.

Yal Devi's journey and the service were limited to Vavuniya due to the terrorist activities in the region in 1990. Following the end of the war, government promised to reconstruct the railway line of Medawchchiya destroyed by the terrorist activities.

The resuming of the train services from Jaffna to south is viewed as a bridge to connect the Tamils in the North and the Sinhalese in the south.

Railway general manager B.A.P. Ariyaratne said the general public will be able to use train services to Jaffna from yesterday. In addition to Yal Devi, two intercity trains and a night mail will also ply to Jaffna daily.

The Colombo - Jaffna, Northern Railway Line up to Jaffna was reconstructed at a cost of Rs, 58 billion with the financial assistance from India. It has been constructed to accommodate trains speeding up to 120 kilometres per hour.

- By Hafsa Sabry