Renovation activities of the Northern railway track between Anuradhapura and Omanthai will begin next week.
The Ministry of Transport said the renovation will be carried out from the 5th of January by an Indian company.
Accordingly, the track which was declared opened in 1905 will be closed between Anuradhapura and Omanthai for a period of five months.
Trains will continue to function between Colombo and Anuradhapura while special bus services will be introduced to transport people who travel to Jaffna and Kankesanturai.
The Minister said the section of the track has 213 culverts and 90 bridges and following the completion of renovations, train will be able to increase the speed limits to up to 70kmph.
Accordingly, the journey time between Colombo and Jaffna will be reduced considerably.
Although the renovation activities were due to commence in 2019, due to the COVID-19 crisis and several other issues, they were delayed.