Access road from Bastian Mawatha to Fort Station opened

Transport and Civil Aviation Minister Nimal Siripala De Silva at the issue of a Stamp and First Day Cover to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the Colombo Fort Railway Station yesterday. Picture by Wimal Karunathileke

A new access road from Bastian Mawatha to the Colombo Fort railway station was commissioned yesterday by Transport and Civil Aviation Minister Nimal Siripala De Silva to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the Colombo Fort Railway Station.

Opened in 1917, the Fort railway station is the ountry’s main railway station where train journeys to all parts of the country begin, except the coastal railway line. The station handles around 320 train operations daily with over two million daily commuters.

“It records a monthly income of nearly Rs.100 million,” Sri Lanka Railways (SLR) Operations Superintendent Vijaya Samarasinghe told the Daily News.

Parallel to the 100 year celebrations, an All Night ‘Pirith Chanting’ ceremony and alms-giving were held yesterday and the day before yesterday at the Colombo Fort railway station premises to invoke blessings on railway employees and commuters who died in the bomb blast at the Colombo Fort railway station and in train accidents.

He further said that four new ticket counters at the Olcott Mawatha Station and the elevated bridge were also opened at the Colombo Fort railway station yesterday to facilitate the train commuters.

A newly-repaired S8 power set was commissioned under the auspices of the Minister while a Stamp and First Day Cover was also issued to mark the occasion.

Meanwhile, plans are afoot to renovate the Colombo Fort railway station as a tourist destination with modern facilities.

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