On October 13, Sri Lankan president Mahinda Rajapaksa launched the final 38-kilometre northern stretch of the railway line between Jaffna to the capital Colombo. The Indian High Commissioner, Y.K. Sinha, who participated in the inauguration ceremony, said the resumption of the service after a 24-year disruption will promote “development, reconciliation and greater integration by bringing people in different parts of the island closer.”
The railway has connected the two cities since 1905, but many of the northern sections of the track were destroyed by the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) during the 1982-2009 civil war.
“India’s Imperatives in Sri Lanka – Analysis”
Neelam Deo, Director, Gateway House's article analysing the completion of an India-assisted rail project in Sri Lanka was republished by Eurasia Review