page_title: Sri Lanka Railways
section_title: Accidents
hierarchical_section_title: Sri Lanka Railways / Issues / Accidents
caption_attribution_description: English: Two sri lankan trains collide together. indian manfactured class s11 and udarata manike
context_page_description: The Sri Lanka Railway Department is Sri Lanka's railway owner and primary operator. As part of the Sri Lankan government, it is overseen by the Ministry of Transport. Founded in 1858 as the Ceylon Government Railway, it operates the nation's rail and links the capital, Colombo, with other population centres and tourist destinations.
  The Sri Lankan rail network is 1,508 km of 5 ft 6 in broad gauge. Some of its routes are scenic, with the Main Line passing waterfalls, mountains, tea estates, pine forests, bridges and peak stations.
context_section_description: 18 March 1964 - A train derailed at high speed, killing over 60 people near Mirigama.
  19 January 1985 - LTTE bombed the Yal Devi killing 11 civilians.
  24 July 1996 - LTTE bombed a train, resulting in 70 civilian deaths at Dehiwala.
  19 August 2001 - A train derailed because of high speed and overcrowding, killing 46 between Alawwa and Rambukkana.
  January 2002 - An intercity express en route to Colombo from Kandy derailed near Rambukkana due to a brake malfunction, killing more than 15.
  13 June 2002 – A train derailed entering the Alawwa railway station, killing 14.
  26 December 2004 – 2004 tsunami rail disaster – At Peraliya, over 1,700 died in the world's biggest rail disaster by death toll when a train was overwhelmed by the 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake and tsunami.
  26 April 2005 (Polgahawela level crossing accident) – A bus trying to pass another bus at a level crossing in Yangalmodara (near Polgahawela) was struck by a train; 37 bus passengers died.
  17 September 2011 – An S11 passenger train struck the stopped Colombo-Kandy Udarata Manike at the Alawwa railway station. Five people were killed and over 30 injured.
  17 May 2012 - After a train struck a stopped train, two trains collided between the Wandurawa and Keenawala stations in Veyangoda.
  30 April 2014 - A northbound intercity express collided with the Colombo-bound Rajarata Rajina at Pothuhera, injuring 68 passengers.
  A number of other accidents have occurred, including collisions with elephants in the north-central region. Other accidents occur at unsecured level crossings with road traffic. Of Sri Lanka's 1,684 crossings, only 527 are secure.
  In an attempt to prevent collisions, SLR has begun installing a GPS-based train-protection system. The system will warn drivers of a possible collision in time to avoid it.
caption: 2011 Alawwa accident
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