Sri Lanka 2013
Episode 6: Rock and Roll Train to Kandy
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January 19 2013 Kandy
A train that runs on schedule in Sri Lanka? The odds are against it.
The train from Ella to Kandy follows the contours of the
mountains in the central region of Sri Lanka, passing through
numerous tea plantations, past rushing rivers, high waterfalls,
fields of carefully tended vegetables and in and out of tunnels.
Everyone we met recommended the trip by train rather than a
crowded bus. Ray purchased First Class tickets which gave us
reserved seating in the Observation car. It sounded rather
grand. The total distance is only 170 km but the train cannot
travel quickly over the winding route. We had anticipated a
seven hour trip, starting at 9:40 AM from Ella. We had special
tea cakes and take-away cheese and vegetable curry rottis for
the trip. We ate breakfast, finished packing and walked to the
station to wait for the train. It finally arrived, late, at
10:10.
The rail line was built by the British in 1864 to transport tea and coffee from the hill stations to Colombo. Extensions finally brought the line to Badulla, its current end, just past Ella, in 1924. Second and third class cars, right behind the engine, don’t guarantee a seat at all and have a reputation for being full beyond capacity. The Observation car was the last car of six on the train. Our car probably was the height of luxury 60 or 70 years ago but it was now rather tired looking. The walls and ceiling were covered in wood panelling in need of repair. Plush, somewhat comfortable, seats faced backwards so that we had a view through the large windows that filled the back wall of the car. As soon as we were seated we opened the window beside our seat so that we could take photos of the scenery we would be passing. The car was never full for our journey so even with a reserved seat we could move as we wished to get the best view. I had grand ideas about writing my journal notes and my blog during the trip, but I hadn’t factored in the motion of the train. The last car gets the maximum movement and our car rocked and rolled its way along the single track. It was better to just relax and enjoy the scenery, which lived up to its billing. It was about 1 PM when we reached Nawara Eliya, approximately the half-way point of our trip. We ate our rotti lunch and looked forward to a more peaceful trip as the topography levelled out. About 2:45 PM we stopped at a spot, near the town of Watawala, where trains could be shunted back and forth. It didn’t seem to be at a station and we were stopped for quite a while. Ray went to explore and came back saying there was a problem on the line. The heavy rains of two weeks ago had caused landslides in several places. The rains must have damaged the rail bed as a train a day ago went off the rails just ahead of us and bent the rails. Repairs were ongoing but the track ahead was impassable in both directions. The engine from our train was uncoupled and driven up to where the derailed train still waited. Our engine was then used to pull the derailed cars back to where we stood and shunted off on one of the side tracks. Then the engine was reconnected to our train. We waited again as the train that originated in Colombo passed us on another side track. Our train finally started up again about 1 ½ hours after our initial stop. The train picked up speed, rattling and rolling even more than before. We pulled into Kandy station about one hour late. The tuk-tuk driver we had arranged to meet us and take us to our guesthouse was not there. Another tuk-tuk driver phoned the number we had for the tuk-tuk driver, who promised to be at the station in 10 minutes. Tiron (tea-rawn) came as promised and we drove 20 minutes into the hillside suburbs of Kandy to our new home, St. Bridget’s Guesthouse. Things began to look up. We enjoyed a good dinner ½ hour later, chatting to the other guests. We had survived another eventful train ride and tomorrow promised to be a good day. |
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