Maradana railway station

Maradana Railway Station (මරදාන දුම්රිය ස්ථානය, மருதானை ரயில் நிலையம்) is a major rail hub in Colombo, Sri Lanka. The station is served by Sri Lanka Railways, with many inter-city and commuter trains entering each day. It is the terminus of several intercity trains.

Maradana is home to the suburban-Colombo network's centralised traffic control centre.

History
When the railways first opened in Ceylon (Sri Lanka) in 1864, trains terminated at Colombo Terminus Station, a now-retired station near Maradana. In 1906, a project was launched to reorganise the railway within the Colombo area. Colombo Terminus Station was closed and replaced by the new Maradana Station.

Fort Railway Station was opened in 1917, as a new central station for Colombo. Today, Maradana and Fort are the primary rail gateways to Colombo.

Location
Maradana Station is in Maradana, located next to the Elphinstone Theatre and near the Maradana Railway Yards. Colombo Fort Station is a couple kilometres away from Maradana Station.

Features
Maradana Station features a two-storey building housing the ticket office, waiting room, and Sri Lanka Railways offices. A footbridge leads to the platforms. The main building is an example of British colonial architecture.

The railways operates its centralised traffic control (CTC) for the Colombo area through a facility at Maradana. The CTC handles about 290 trains per day.

Services
The station is served from the north-east by the Main line, which leads to several other major routes in Sri Lanka's railway network. To the south-east of the station, the Kelani Valley Line connects Maradana with many other area of Colombo. The station is served to the west by the Coastal line, leading to Galle and Matara. Most of these Coastal-line trains terminate at Maradana Station.

Maradana station is also a hub for commuter rail within the Colombo metropolis.