Transport in Sri Lanka
Transport in Sri Lanka is based on its road network, which is centred on the country's commercial capital Colombo.
There are navigable waterways, harbours and three international airports: in Katunayake, 35 kilometres (22 mi) north of Colombo, in Hambantota, and in Jaffna.
The main modes of transportation in Sri Lanka are bus, motorcycles and passenger cars (including taxi service).
Sri Lanka's roads are graded E, A, B and C. The Colombo–Matara Expressway is a 126-kilometre-long (78 mi) motorway linking Colombo, Galle and Matara which was built in 2011 to develop the economy of the Southern Province.
Service is provided by the state-run Sri Lanka Transport Board (SLTB) and privately owned buses.
When the first ever car entered Sri Lanka 8 HP single cylinder Rover brought down by Edgar Money, a local British businessman.
Prior to the 1960s, British and European car brands such as Ford, Mini, Rolls-Royce and Rover dominated the post-colonial Sri Lanka automobile market.
Purchasing an automobile was once a luxury reserved for the upper crust of society, as vehicle imports was closely regulated, and taxes exorbitant.
In the 1960s, there was an abrupt halt to the influx of vehicles to Sri Lanka when the Government banned all imports in order to fix a foreign exchange deficit.
The railway was introduced as an economical means of transporting goods produced on the tea, rubber and coconut plantations to the main port in Colombo.
Their potential for expansion was demonstrated when Minister of Transport Leslie Goonewardene extended the coastal line from Puttalam to Aruvakalu in 1974 to serve the cement factory there.
[23] The Sri Lankan rail network passes scenic landscapes—particularly the Colombo-Badulla main line, which hugs the country's steep highlands.
The railways connect the cities of Kandy, Galle, Matara, Jaffna, Kankesanturai, Mannar, Anuradhapura, Gampaha, Negombo, Kurunegala, Avissawella, Kalutara, Polonnaruwa, Batticaloa, Trincomalee, Badulla, Gampola, Nawalapitiya, Matale, Vavuniya, Puttalam and Chilaw with Colombo.
Sri Lanka has 160 kilometres (99 mi) of inland waterways (primarily on rivers in the southwest), navigable by shallow-draught boats.
[27] The project, headed by the Sri Lanka Ports Authority and built by the Hyundai Engineering and Construction Company, was expected to be completed by 11 April 2012.
The port will serve ships travelling along one of the world's busiest sea lanes: the east-west route running 6 to 10 nautical miles (11 to 19 km; 6.9 to 11.5 mi) south of Hambantota.
With unloading and packing facilities meeting the requirements of fish-importing countries (the EU, Japan and the US), it will be an alternative site for the Mutwal fishery harbour.
