A test run will be carried out on the newly constructed Matara-Beliatta railway extension line today under the patronage of Transport and Civil Aviation Minister Arjuna Ranathunga. The train is expected to leave Beliatta at 10 a.m and stop at Wewurukannala, Ambarenda and Kekanadura
The 26.75-kilometre Matara – Beliatta extension line is the first rail track constructed in Sri Lanka since 1948 and will be the longest and second longest railway bridges with 1.5 km and 1.04 km; one of the highest railway bridges with a 18.2m hight Weralagoda Bridge, the longest railway tunnel (Nakkutiya Tunnel) which is 615 metres long and the most modern railway station buildings.
The railway extension project costing US$ 278 million has been financed by the Exim Bank of China and China National Machinery
Import and Export Corporation (CMC) are the main contractors while China Railway No.5 Engineering Group Co., Ltd. (CR5), a subsidiary of China Railway Construction Corporation, (CREC) which has over 150 years’ experience in building railroads.