Emma is an established travel writer and author specialising in Sri Lanka where she was based for over a decade. Emma's work has featured in Condé Nast Traveller, Guardian Travel, Get Lost, Suitcase, Wanderlust and numerous inflight magazines. She's written for i-escape.com and Mr & Mrs Smith, and is The Telegraph's Sri Lanka hotel expert. She's worked on many Rough Guides titles including guides to Australia, India and Sri Lanka. She is also the author of Culture Smart! Sri Lanka.
Travelling by train in Sri Lanka is a fun activity for the whole family. It is one of the cheapest ways to travel yet offers a rich insight into the Sri Lankan way of life.
The most enchanting journey is along the Main Line, which weaves through the island’s dramatic mountainous region. Thanks to its incredible views it is also the most popular – sometimes uncomfortably so – route, particularly the long 5.5 hour journey between Kandy and Ella. My advice: either do it in reverse (quieter) or take fidgety youngsters on a shorter route, such as between Galle and Weligama on the ocean-glimpsing Coastal Line.
Less touristy than the Main Line route is the service between Colombo and Jaffna. Once a lifeline connecting the two cities, the route was suspended for nearly 25 years during the country’s civil war. When the Yal Devi or Queen of Jaffna – an iconic train that plied the route for more than 40 years – resumed its run in 2014 after extensive track repairs, it became one of the most telling signifiers of the end of the war.
This journey is the most memorable way to see the distinct shifts in the landscape as you travel to the country’s northernmost reaches. It offers you glimpses of nondescript villages, lush paddy fields and the arid northern countryside, inaccessible until recently. It is a journey that is likely to give you pause – and a break from the brochure-ready beauty of most of Sri Lanka.
With its non-air conditioned coaches and vendors supplying a steady stream of snacks, the Yal Devi makes for a leisurely 10-hour ride. But if you’d prefer air-conditioned comfort, the speedy Inter-City Express is a better bet. The train service to Jaffna is a popular one, so it is advisable to buy tickets in advance from a railway station in Colombo (or in Jaffna, for the return trip). Tickets cannot be bought online, but a reputed travel agent should be able to arrange them for you.
Don’t be tempted to travel first class, which isn’t as indulgent as it sounds. Second- and third-class carriages have better views (first-class trains are air-conditioned so you can’t open the windows) and offer a better chance of interacting with local people.
At a glance
Destinations
Sri Lanka
Activity
Train
Season
January - December
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Lesser-known train journeys
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