Sri Lanka is one of the best tourist destinations in the world. The main reason is its natural beauty. But the authorized persons in Sri Lanka tourism and other sectors have yet to find how to exploit this natural beauty in terms of tourism.
However, Sri Lanka Railways along with Transport Minister Dilum Amunugama ventured to launch a new luxury train from Kandy to Ella to attract tourists for the breathtaking sceneries in up country. The train service is named Ella Odyssey, and was inaugurated recently by the Minister Amunugama and other officials including General Manager of Railways Department, Dhammika Jayasundara.
Time table and facilities
The train operates daily. It leaves Kandy at 7 a.m. and reaches Demodara at 2.20 p.m., and then, leaves Demodara at 3.40 p.m. and reaches Kandy at 9.45 p.m. It is powered by a class S14 Power-Set, and has 176 AC first class seats, 144 second class seats and a restaurant/buffet with over 70 seats.
The specialty of the service is that it stops at 12 stations including nine tourist attractions such as St. Clair Falls, Great Western, Railway Station, Algin Waterfall, Pattipola, Idalgashinna and Demodara Nine-Arch Bridge. When it stops at these locations, tourists can enjoy the scenery, capture photos and videos for a few minutes and return to the train. It will leave only when all the passengers get into the train.
The Railways Department has also made security arrangements for the safety of the train and passengers. Passengers who wish to travel in it were advised to book their tickets through the e-ticketing service. They can obtain further details from this web site: slrailwayforum.com/the-ella-odyssey-train
Minister’s views
After participating in this unique train journey from Kandy to Ella, Minister Amunugama spoke about the new venture.
“The tourists who come to Kandy have no place to visit other than Dalada Maligawa and Peradeniya Botanical Garden. This is why we started this new train service. You know this is tourist season, so we have planned to operate this service daily from Kandy to Ella, and from Ella to Kandy.”
“The main reason for the present economic crisis in the country is lack of dollars. We earned more than five billion rupees for the past few months. But that is not enough to overcome the situation. So the Ministry of Transport planned a program to promote tourism and through it to increase the foreign exchange. The new luxury train is the main initiative under that program.”
“We hope to extend it to other tourism areas such as Hikkaduwa, Jaffna and so on. It facilitates foreign tourists and local tourists as well. And we operate this luxury train service in parallel to the normal train service,” he said.
GM, Railways
General Manager of Railways Department, Dhammika Jayasundara said, “We knew that the Kandy–Ella train ride was identified as one of the 10 best train rides in the world. But up to now, foreign tourists had to experience that magic only through general passenger trains. So we thought of starting a luxury train service only for tourists, which is this.”
Tourists’ appreciation
The most delighted persons of this venture are tourists. So their comments are also equally important.
“This is my first visit to Sri Lanka, and it is a very very exciting travelling. The people are nice and the country is beautiful,” said a tourist from France.
A young couple from Romania also shared their views. The young man said, “This is a great country and the landscape is very beautiful, and also the people are so nice.”
His wife complemented, “It’s a beautiful train ride. We loved every minute of it.”
Another female tourist said, “It’s a really nice trip. Views are amazing. It will definitely be helpful for Sri Lankan tourism as well as everyone who wants to enjoy this experience.”
A tourist from Spain said, “I must say this is quite comfortable. I guess this is the world famous Ella train. Usually, people travel from Kandy to Ella in this train, but I travel the other way round: Ella to Kandy. I took not a first class ticket, but a second class ticket which is Rs. 500, and is quite economical.”
Among many tourists who share this unique train ride, are Indian guys as well. Following is one of the Indian person’s views: “Sri Lanka Railways has done a very good job. They should promote this more, so more people enjoy this. We are having a really good time.”
Worthwhile to start it at least now
A Sri Lankan tourist who experienced this magic ride said, “I think this step should have taken long before. But it is worthwhile to start it even now. And I highly appreciate the excellent facilities in the train as well.”
To congratulate the new venture, people from the tourism sector also joined in. Especially, Sri Lankan Association of Inbound Tour Operators (SLAITO) said they were delighted to learn of the launch of the new train from Kandy to Ella on a daily basis.
Excellent opportunity for tourists
“This is an excellent opportunity for tourists to travel on this scenic route. The train will have AC first and second class seats and also a restaurant serving buffet which will have 70 seats, enough for socializing’ said Mahen Kariyawasam from SLAITO.
“We thank General Manager Railways M. Jayasundara and his team for taking this initiative, which we are confident will be a good value addition to Sri Lanka’s tourism product,” he added.
Historical moment
Joint Managing Director, Tour Blue Holding Pvt Ltd, Darshana Cabraal, hailing the initiative said, “This is a historical moment for us in Sri Lanka. We especially thank the Government for facilitating this type of train. In fact, Ella mountain range is one of the most beautiful places in the world. But tourists couldn’t buy tickets to go on this route because of many shortcomings. Now they can directly buy tickets through the Internet without any disturbance which is remarkable.”
So Ella Odyssey would become a most sought after service among tourists very soon.