<\/b>Best of British rail, and still going strong.\u00a0<\/b><\/p>\n
Both Trincomalee and Batticaloa are firmly plugged in to the creaking but characterful Sri Lankan railway network. Both offer overnight sleeper services to and from Colombo, a fine way to travel \u2013 although you won\u2019t get the benefit of all that magnificent scenery if you travel by night!<\/p>\n
Over in Colombo, where there are lots of trains, the signalling systems have been modernised, but on the east coast time has stood still, at least it has in railway terms. The technology in use here is British made, and was first patented way back in 1896. For the station master at Trincomalee, Mr T Saryeswaram, operating his 100-year-old Tyers Patent Tablet is second nature, and he\u2019s happy to explain its principles to visitors if he isn\u2019t too busy. The machine looks like a cranky old cash-register, and it only co-operates if you can feed a huge brass coin \u2013 the tablet \u2013 into its mouth.<\/p>\n
Mr Saryeswaram, surrounded by hand-written logbooks and registers, is well aware of the system\u2019s shortcomings. Not being in any way computerised, his station can\u2019t sell us a ticket starting from anywhere other than Trincomalee. He\u2019s a Tamil, of course, and some day \u2013 he smiles at the idea – he\u2019d like to be the stationmaster at the brand new station in Jaffna, when the line to the north finally reopens.<\/p>\n
[youtube height=”HEIGHT” width=”WIDTH”]https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=T32iEhO89y0<\/a>[\/youtube]<\/p>\n