News
Chugging back in time on board colonial era steam locomotives
View(s):- Train village at Maradana’s Technical junction to bring more tourists
Text and pix by Rekha Tharanganee Fonseka
The museum will be located at the Technical junction in Maradana.
CGR Planning Director J.A.D.R. Pushpakumara explained the progress of the move, saying the project is not just a museum but a “village” focusing on the railway development of Sri Lanka.
“There is a culture of railways with contemporary history and the new programme will not display only an old engine as a museum item. Visitors will gain knowledge and experiences on the contemporary history of railways and the social development brought out thereafter,” he said.
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- Visitors to the train village would be able to travel in trains from the colonial era
The project which was inaugurated during CGR General Manager B.A.T. Ariyaratne’s time in 2018, has two stages. A Cabinet paper on the project was also released back then. The expenditure of the first stage amounted to Rs. 100 million.
Mr. Pushpakumara said steam engines used in the 19th century for passenger transport would be displayed in the village in ten locations. Around 27 engines from the British colonial era were already in place in proposed area.
The visitors to the village would be able to travel in trains from this era, completely tended to by staff wearing the relevant uniforms as well. These trains would also have canteens to serve the passengers, in compartments redesigned for just this purpose.
Mr. Pushpakumara said this proposed train village concept would be significant for the promotion of tourism in the country, as some of these old engines were not available anywhere else in the world.
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