All train services between Rambukkana and Gampola via Peradeniya were suspended from midnight on Sunday until further notice after a landslide near Kadigamuwa railway station, the Railway Department said.
The department said soil from the landslide, which was triggered by adverse weather, has spilled onto the track between Rambukkana and Peradeniya. Emergency repairs were carried out on Saturday and Sunday to reopen the line, but it said the risk of further landslides remains high because heavy rain is continuing in the area.
Services on the affected section will stay suspended until repairs are finished and the line is confirmed safe. Passengers who reserved seats on trains scheduled to run during the suspension can obtain a full refund at any railway station, the department said.
The suspension comes as the Disaster Management Centre (DMC) deployed rescue teams and equipment to areas at risk of severe weather. DMC Director Pradeep Kodippili said all necessary arrangements had been made to respond to possible disasters caused by the rainy conditions.
He said the preparations followed forecasts from the Department of Meteorology about a weather system developing in the Bay of Bengal.
Background
The Meteorology Department said a depression in the Bay of Bengal became a deep depression at 11.30 a.m. on Sunday. It was centred near latitude 15.1 degrees North and longitude 91.0 degrees East.
The system is expected to move southwestwards before turning gradually westwards and then northwestwards. The department said it is likely to become a cyclone by Monday morning and a severe cyclonic storm over the west-central Bay of Bengal by Tuesday morning.
The department said the system is not expected to affect Sri Lanka directly. However, the circulation of winds around it could bring more rain across the island over the next few days, especially in the southwest.
Showers or thundershowers are expected at times in the Northern, Western, Sabaragamuwa, Southern, North Western and Central provinces and in the Anuradhapura district. Some areas could receive more than 100 millimetres of rain. Showers may also fall in parts of the Uva Province and in the Ampara and Batticaloa districts after 1 p.m.
Winds of 40 to 50 kilometres per hour are expected at times along the western slopes of the Central Highlands, in the Northern, North Central and North Western provinces, and in the Trincomalee and Hambantota districts.
What it means
Passengers who planned to travel on the Main Line, which links Colombo with the hill country, will need to make other arrangements while the suspension lasts. The Railway Department said refunds for reserved seats are available at any station, and that services will resume only once the line is confirmed safe.
The Meteorology Department has urged the public to take precautions against temporary strong winds and lightning during thunderstorms. People living in areas where heavy rain is forecast can follow updates from the Meteorology Department and the DMC.
