Sri Lanka Railways M2

The Sri Lanka Railways Class M2 is a class of diesel-electric locomotive that was developed in 1954 by General Motors Diesel, Canada, and Electro-Motive Division, USA. This is considered one of the most successful locomotives in Sri Lanka.

It is a General Motors Diesel (Canada) EMD G12 model using the EMD 567C, 1425 hp engine.

Introduction
From 1954, several batches of General Motors-manufactured locomotives were imported to Sri Lanka under "The Colombo Plan". Locally called a "Canadian" engine – there are actually two classes of Canadian engines in SLR – the other one is Class M4. Since these engine were imported under grants from the Canadian government, class M2 locomotives are named with Canadian province and city names. The last two locomotives were made in the United States and imported for Cement Corporation, Sri Lanka. But they were later attached to Sri Lanka Railways’ locomotive fleet. They were named after two local cities – Galle and Kankasanthurei – where the cement factories were located.

Entering into Service
The class entered service in January 1955. The Ruhunu Kumari train started using M2 572 British Columbia on 24 October 1955, the first long distance luxury passenger train service in Sri Lanka. The same loco hauled the first Udarata Manike Colombo - Badulla train on 23 April 1956, and on the same day the Yal Davi started, hauled by M2 569 Ontario, in the far north of the country.

In Service
This class has been used on both passenger and freight trains on Sri Lanka's railways for over 50 years. Despite the introduction of more modern types of traction, as of 2013 a significant number are still in use.

Accidents & Incidents

 * Number 570 was trapped in Kankasanthurei from 1992 to 1996 due to the civil war after hauling the last night mail train to Kankasanthurei. Brought to Colombo by ship as parts, re-assembled and put back on track.
 * Number 571 Saskatchewan was completely destroyed on 14 September 1985 near Pollipothana due to a bomb blast by terrorists.
 * Number 572 British Colombia was the engine powered the famous 'Wilwatte- Mirigama" accident on 16 October 1964 killed 25 and injured 88 passengers.
 * Number 570 Alberta faced minor damage when a land mine exploded in Punani on 7 June 2007 and severely damaged as a result of Pothuhera train accident on 30 April 2014
 * Number 591 Manitoba was damaged on 26 December 2004 when pulling the Matara Express and was hit by the Indian Ocean tsunami, and added back to service after four months. This locomotive was repainted to depict a sea wave on its livery.
 * Number 628 Kankasanthurai was badly damaged by a land mine, but was rebuilt