Restoration work for Northern Railway Line
India Launches $5 Million Grant-Funded Restoration of Sri Lanka’s Northern Railway Line After Cyclone Ditwah
High Commissioner of India Santosh Jha and Bimal Rathnayake, Minister of Transport, Highways, and Urban Development, jointly launched the restoration of Sri Lanka’s Northern Railway Line, supported by an Indian grant of $5 million.
Namal Karunaratne, Deputy Minister of Agriculture and Livestock; Tissa Kumarasiri Warnasuriya, Governor of the North Western Province; and Geetha Herath, Member of Parliament, also attended the event.
The project is part of the USD 450 million Indian reconstruction and rehabilitation package announced during External Affairs Minister Dr S. Jaishankar’s visit to Sri Lanka.
Due to the extensive damage caused by Cyclone Ditwah, urgent restoration of critical infrastructure, especially railways, was required to support passenger movement, essential services, and logistics in the affected regions.
In response, the Government of India announced grant assistance for the reconstruction and rehabilitation of the Northern Railway Line, which was originally constructed with Indian support.
IRCON International Limited, an Indian public-sector company with significant experience in railway construction and rehabilitation, is undertaking the restoration. The project covers three severely affected sections of the Northern Railway Line: Maho–Omanthai, Omanthai–Jaffna, and Medawachchiya–Mannar, all of which suffered major disruptions in rail connectivity across the Northern and North Central regions.
Restoration work began on Sunday, less than three weeks after the assistance was announced, demonstrating India’s commitment to timely development cooperation.
Regular train services are expected to return to pre-Ditwah frequencies by April 2026, three months ahead of the Sinhala and Tamil New Year.
Remaining works are scheduled for completion by May 2026.
The accelerated timeline will require significant manpower and specialised machinery. IRCON International Limited will also complete pending ancillary works on the Maho–Omanthai railway line, supported by India’s continued Line of Credit.
Railways remain central to India–Sri Lanka development cooperation. India’s total financial assistance to Sri Lanka’s railway sector is approximately USD 1.2 billion.
This support includes the construction and rehabilitation of nearly 500 kilometres of track, the installation of signalling systems across about 400 kilometres, and the supply of rolling stock, all of which have strengthened Sri Lanka Railways and improved rail connectivity.