Special luxury express tourist train ‘Yal Nila Odyssey’ to KKS

• It will  leave from KKS at 10 p.m. on Sunday and reach Mount Lavinia at 6 a.m.  

By Chaturanga Pradeep Samarawickrama  

A special luxury express tourist train, ‘Yal Nila Odyssey, from Mount Lavinia to Kankesanthurai (KKS), will start operating on August 4 (Friday), Transport and Cabinet Minister Bandula Gunawardana said.  The train consists of super-luxury, fully air-conditioned compartments and restaurant cars. The train starts its first journey at 10.30 p.m. from Mount Lavinia and is scheduled to reach KKS at 6 a.m. on Saturday (5).   

The train will be stationed at KKS on Saturday and Sunday, and it will leave from KKS at 10 p.m. on Sunday and reach Mount Lavinia at 6 a.m.  

This tourist train will operate as a weekend train. But from August 18, this train will operate daily between Mount Lavinia and KKS in view of the Nallur Kandaswamy Kovil Temple Festival.  
However, this luxury train service will operate until the end of December, as the Ministry has decided to have a total refurbishment of the railway line between Maho and Anuradhapura.  
According to the Railways General Manager, W.A.D.S. Gunasinghe, Rs. 4,000 will be charged to a single commuter, one way.   “The train can accommodate a total of 570 commuters, including 106 seats for the third class, 128 seats for the second class, and 336 seats for the first class. An onboard cleaning service is available on the train. All tickets can be reserved through the online system,” the GMR said.  

“Earlier, the Yal Devi Express Train was operated for a longer period while connecting the North and South of the country. After the civil war, the northern railway line was reconstructed, and the train services between Colombo and KKS were operated again,” Minister Gunawardana said.