[2] Operated by Sri Lanka Railways, the Yal Devi connects Colombo, the nation's commercial hub, with the northern cities of Jaffna and Kankesanturai.

The Yal Devi, as a named-express train, was established to connect Colombo, Jaffna, and Kankesanturai, as commissioned by B. D. Rampala, the railways' then-general manager.

[4] After the war ended in 2009, work started to rebuild the track and restore the Yal Devi service to Kankesanturai,[6] under the Uthuru Mithuru Project.

From here the Northern Line extended to Kankesanturai, a port city, with the Yal Devi train from Colombo terminating here.

The entire re-construction of the Northern Line (from Omanthai to Kankesanthurai – 146 km) was completed during the latter half of 2014, and it was finally opened to public on 3 January 2015.