# Sri Lanka Train Times and Line Status - Which Lines Run After the Cyclone Repairs Page: https://hirantha.me/tools/sri-lanka-train-times Part of: Hirantha Sandaruwan Lakshan free tools (https://hirantha.me/tools) Updated: 2026-10-28 Which railway lines are running after the cyclone repairs, stretch by stretch, and the departure times Sri Lanka Railways has announced. This is a free tool that runs in the browser: open the page to use it. File tools process files on the visitor's own device; files are never uploaded or stored. No account, sign-up, payment or watermark. Choose two stations and see whether the journey can be made by train now, which stretches are open or still closed after Cyclone Ditwah, and the departure times Sri Lanka Railways has announced. Trains run from Colombo Fort to Peradeniya and Gampola again from 2 October 2026, but not yet to Kandy, and the line between Gampola and Nanu Oya is still closed. Each status has its date and source. Nothing you choose leaves your browser. Cyclone Ditwah in late November 2025 left only the Coastal and Kelani Valley lines running. The others have reopened in stages: the Northern Line to Kankesanthurai on 9 April 2026, Nanu Oya to Badulla on 20 June 2026, and Colombo Fort to Peradeniya and Gampola on 2 October 2026. Each stretch between the main stations has a status and the dated report or Sri Lanka Railways notice it comes from. A journey is possible by train only if every stretch on it is open. Kandy is on a short branch from Peradeniya, and that branch is closed because the Mahaweli River rail bridge is damaged, so trains on the Main Line stop at Peradeniya. The departure times are the ones Sri Lanka Railways announced for the reopened Main Line services from 2 October 2026, such as the Podi Menike Express leaving Colombo Fort at 5.55 am, and the reserved-seat times it gave for the Northern Line (5.15 am from Mount Lavinia to Kankesanthurai and 1.05 pm back). No times are copied from unofficial timetables, so many trains are not listed. This is a dated reference, not a live timetable. Trains are cancelled, retimed and added, and closed stretches reopen. Check the date at the top of the result, book reserved seats on the official seat reservation site, and confirm at the station. Sri Lanka Railways publishes no fare table online, so no fares are given. Q: Is the Colombo to Kandy train running? A: Trains run from Colombo Fort to Peradeniya again since 2 October 2026, but not into Kandy: the Peradeniya to Kandy branch is closed because the Mahaweli River rail bridge is damaged. The status was checked on the date shown with the result. Q: Can I take the train from Colombo to Ella now? A: Not all the way. Colombo Fort to Gampola and Nanu Oya to Ella and Badulla are open, but Gampola to Nanu Oya is still closed after the cyclone, so the middle part needs road transport. Q: What time does the Podi Menike leave Colombo Fort? A: Sri Lanka Railways announced train 1005, the Podi Menike Express, leaving Colombo Fort at 5.55 am daily from 3 October 2026 and reaching Peradeniya at 8.34 am and Gampola at 9.06 am. It returns from Gampola at 4.10 pm. Q: Is the Jaffna train running? A: Yes. Northern Line services to Kankesanthurai resumed on 9 April 2026, with reserved seats on the 5.15 am from Mount Lavinia and the 1.05 pm from Kankesanthurai. Q: Where can I see train fares? A: Sri Lanka Railways publishes no fare table online, so this page gives none. Book reserved seats on the official seat reservation site or ask at the station. Q: How up to date is this? A: Each stretch's status was checked by hand on the date shown, from Sri Lanka Railways notices and dated news reports linked on the page. Services change, so confirm before you travel. Sources: Daily Mirror, 28 September 2026 (Sri Lanka Railways' timetable for the reopened Colombo Fort - Peradeniya - Gampola services), checked 2026-10-28 (https://www.dailymirror.lk/breaking-news/Upcountry-train-services-to-Gampola-resume-from-Oct-2/108-351306); Sunday Times, 11 October 2026: trains run to Peradeniya, not Kandy, checked 2026-10-28 (https://www.sundaytimes.lk/261011/plus/back-on-track-to-pera-a-testament-to-local-expertise-and-resilience-660096.html); Sunday Times, 21 June 2026: Nanu Oya - Badulla services resumed, checked 2026-10-28 (https://www.sundaytimes.lk/260621/news/podi-menike-hits-the-tracks-from-nanu-oya-to-badulla-marking-latest-phase-of-restoration-646913.html); Sri Lanka Mirror, 9 April 2026: Northern Line services resume to Kankesanthurai, checked 2026-10-28 (https://srilankamirror.com/news/northern-line-train-services-resume-from-today/); EconomyNext, 7 December 2025: the General Manager of Railways on the lines that survived the cyclone, checked 2026-10-28 (https://economynext.com/sri-lanka-railway-tracks-left-hanging-by-cyclone-ditwah-gm-251911/); Sri Lanka Railways: official seat reservation site (https://seatreservation.railway.gov.lk/mtktwebslr/) Related tools: - [Expressway toll calculator (Sri Lanka)](https://hirantha.me/tools/expressway-toll-calculator-sri-lanka.md): The gazetted toll between any two interchanges on the Southern, Outer Circular, Katunayake and Central expressways, for each vehicle category. - [Trip fuel cost calculator](https://hirantha.me/tools/fuel-cost-calculator.md): Work out the fuel needed and the cost of a trip from distance, your vehicle's km per litre and the price you pay, and split it between passengers. - [Sri Lanka public holidays 2027 & 2026](https://hirantha.me/tools/sri-lanka-holidays.md): Every gazetted public, bank and mercantile holiday and Poya day, with the next holiday, long weekends and a working-day counter. - [Colombo time converter (Sri Lanka time)](https://hirantha.me/tools/colombo-time-converter.md): Convert Sri Lanka time (Colombo, UTC+5:30) to London, New York, Dubai, Singapore, Sydney and more, with the day change and shared working hours. - [Sri Lanka number plate checker](https://hirantha.me/tools/sri-lanka-vehicle-number-plate-checker.md): Read a Sri Lankan number plate: its series, the province letters, and the dates that series is known to cover, with honest limits on the year.