Classes, lines & how to book in 2026
Every train carries up to three classes: 1st class (reserved, some with A/C or observation saloons), 2nd class (padded seats and fans, reservable on express trains), and 3rd class (cheapest, unreserved on most services). Sri Lanka's network runs on five main lines - the Main (hill country) Line, Coastal Line, Northern Line, Eastern Line and Puttalam Line, plus the Kelani Valley line to Avissawella.
Book online - 30 days ahead
Reserved seats open exactly 30 days before travel on the official portal, seatreservation.railway.gov.lk. Popular hill-country departures sell out within minutes of release.
Check current fares
Fares have been revised several times since 2022. Use the official calculator at ticketfare.railway.gov.lk for the exact price of any journey and class.
By phone
Mobitel/SLT users can book reserved seats via the 365 hotline (24 hours). Unreserved 2nd/3rd class tickets are simply bought at the station on the day.
Verify before you travel
Post-cyclone timetables are still being adjusted. Reconfirm times at railway.gov.lk or by calling Fort station on 011-2434215.
Ella Odyssey - Colombo to Badulla via Kandy
The tourist train built for the view: reserved carriages and scheduled photo stops at the hill country's most spectacular spots, including St. Clair's Falls, the Great Western viewpoint and the Nine Arch Bridge. After cyclone disruption, it is running again on the restored line - but reconfirm close to your date, as routing has changed at short notice during repairs.
Set No. 988 · at Ella
World's most beautiful train ride - Ella to Kandy
Ask any traveller to name the world's most beautiful train journey and this line comes up first: roughly seven hours of slow, open-doored wandering between Kandy and Ella through tea estates, cloud forest, waterfalls and mountain tunnels on a railway the British began carving into the highlands in the 1860s. The train climbs past Hatton into the St. Clair's and Devon falls country, crests the island at Pattipola, drifts along the Idalgashinna ridge with valleys falling away on both sides, then rolls down through Haputale, Diyathalawa and Bandarawela to Ella - with the famous Nine Arch Bridge at Demodara just beyond. There's no glass between you and the view: sit in the doorway, let the elephant grass brush the carriage, and watch the island go by at walking pace.
Tea country from the doorway
Cloud-forest mist near the summit
Diyathalawa station
Elephant grass at walking paceTrain times from Colombo Fort
Tap a route to expand its timetable. Hill-country times are the pre-cyclone pattern being progressively restored - treat them as a guide and reconfirm; coastal, northern and eastern services are running to schedule.
Riding the hill country line
Every schedule on this page is a trip I'd take again in a heartbeat. These are my photos from the upcountry train - the open doorways, the tea slopes past Diyathalawa, and the platform at Haputale, 1,431 metres above the sea. Click any photo to view it full size.