The construction of the Talaimannar -Medawachchiya railway line is in rapid progress and is due to be opened by late 2013, Mannar District Secretary Sarath Ravindra said. He was addressing a seminar in Mannar on 'The role of provincial journalists for district development' organised by the Government Information Department.
Ravindra said the construction of the rail track is fast progressing since the government took prompt action to reconstruct the railway line after the completion of the humanitarian mission.
"The construction is carried out under two phases. The first phase is from Medawachchiya to Madhu and the second phase is from Madhu to Talaimannar," he said.
The Talaimannar railway line branches off the Northern Line at Medawachchiya Junction. The railway line, six kilometres, will pass through 11 railway stations and terminates at the Talaimannar Town in Talaimannar island.
According to railway records, the line was opened in 1914. All services on the line were stopped in June 1990 after blasted the Mannar bridge, which linked Mannar and Talaimannar island.
The government initiated projects to rebuild the entire line from Medawachchiya," Ravindra said.
The contract to reconstruct the 44 kilometer line between Medawachchiya Junction and Madhu was awarded to IRCON International, the Indian state-owned engineering and construction company.
The project will cost US$ 81 million and will be financed by a soft loan from the Indian government. IRCON has also been awarded the contract to reconstruct the 65 kilometre line between Madhu and Talaimannar. The project will cost US$ 150 million and will also be financed by a soft loan from the Indian government. The reconstruction of the entire line is expected to be completed by 2013, he said.
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