I’m sitting at a railway station, and I have a ticket for a destination.

Part of the charm and nostalgia of travelling in Sri Lanka is using the railways and stations of bygone years. This started for me over two decades ago in Sri Lanka. I’ve even visited some railway stations whilst travelling around in my jeep. Some stations haven’t seen a train for a long time.

The first station trip was on the early morning train to Kandy, leaving Fort Station. The station is a copy of Manchester, UK, but has double the annual passengers. The Government of Sri Lanka wants to give it a new image. Crazy. Clean it, repair it and decorate it, but don’t change it.

I’ve trampled Jaffna Station numerous times and been on the station pier terminal at Mannar. In the last month, I’ve ticked off China Bay Station near Trincomalee and Ohiya up country. There is a station where the train goes round a hill, and under the station, you have just walked out from! The station passion started from a visit upcountry to Diyatalawa, an immaculate station, with flowers and a friendly station master who walked us about. I was amazed to see a photo of many Boer South African soldiers standing on the platform of the station. 

In most of our stations, other than the big city locations, station masters are keen to tour their station with you and show you how they control trains on the track. In Kandy, I get to the end of the platform and go into the signal box. I’m moving 120-year-old levers, the mechanism for controlling which trains go on which track.

Haputale and Ohio’s Station are charming, with flowers, always looking tidy. It’s great to see the smartly dressed, all in white, station master coming out to manage their patch. I found a headless statue whilst rummaging around the platform bushes at Haputale station.

I was on the same platform a year ago, and they were producing a film. The station name had been covered over, and “Phnom Penh” was up there. A row of monks was lining up to get on the train. I was pushed out of the way; there were no white boys in the shot.

There are 345 Sri Lankan stations, many of which keep a historic look and memorabilia. Bandarawela has an old train as a feature. Shame it’s black, not very photogenic. There are turning platforms, cranes, and old rolling stock to be found. Many of the stations are from the Victorian era in design, and you can normally find the original station master’s house.

A disappointing station is Ella, and sadly, during the LTTE period, many stations were lost in the north and east of the country.

Three of us met at Borella Junction station on a trip to Tissamaharama, hoping to see and stop off at a few stations along the way. There were twenty official stops plus unofficial ones. No toilet on the modern train. I noticed a free phone charging facility on the platform in a few stations.

On a little tour of Maradana in Colombo, the main observations were that the overhead commuter bridge was disgusting, with a lack of maintenance and cleaning generally. The ticket office and main station entrance have been preserved well and reflect old Empire standards. The signboards for train times are still operated manually, with interchangeable boards showing destinations and times. Ironically, in last Sunday’s newspaper, it says the station has had a “big clean-up”, with thirty-five million rupees spent. There is a photo of the station, the fascia looking great. Must revisit.

There is no real railway museum in Colombo, but there is a site allocated for one near the Floating Market. There is a minimal collection of trains displayed by the platform at Kadugannawa station, near Kandy. There is also a sign by the water market in Colombo confirming that a railway museum is planned. It’s a few decades behind the plan. One thing that is consistent in the stations I’ve visited is the awful toilets. Some are appalling. You may have also noticed that in some up-country stations, the platforms are being raised. This is to make it easier to get on to, or down from, the train. Currently, it’s a big drop to get off some trains, best to descend backwards, looking into the carriage.

So buy a ticket, pick a station that takes your fancy, have a proper day out, and take the train back. Just don’t expect the loo to be clean and tidy.