![A train pulls into a station during a test run along the newly constructed China-funded railway line in Beliatta, Sri Lanka, Jan. 6, 2019. The Sri Lankan Ministry of Transporton on Sunday conducted a test run along the newly constructed railway line between Matara and Beliatta in the south of the island country which will boost passenger traffic. The 26.75 km long Matara-Beliatta railway extension was financed by the Exim Bank of China and the contract was awarded to China National Machinery Import and Export Corporation. [Photo:Xinhua/Gayan Sameera]](http://img3.zhytuku.meldingcloud.com/images/zhycms_chinaplus/20190108/00e16daf-3697-4ff5-9ab9-db71c52ee7f6.jpg?x-oss-process=image/resize,w_650)
The Sri Lankan Ministry of Transporton has conducted a test run along the newly constructed railway line between Matara and Beliatta, the first railway line constructed in the country in decades, in southern Sri Lanka.
Sri Lanka’s Minister of Transport and Civil Aviation Arjuna Ranatunga, speaking at a ceremony before conducting the test run on Sunday, said that the China-funded railway line is the first to be constructed in Sri Lanka since 1948 and it includes the longest and second longest railway bridges of 1.5 km and 1.04 km, respectively.
The railway line also includes one of the tallest railway bridges, the longest railway tunnel and the most modern railway station buildings in the country.
![A train pulls into a station during a test run along the newly constructed China-funded railway line in Beliatta, Sri Lanka, Jan. 6, 2019. The Sri Lankan Ministry of Transporton on Sunday conducted a test run along the newly constructed railway line between Matara and Beliatta in the south of the island country which will boost passenger traffic. The 26.75 km long Matara-Beliatta railway extension was financed by the Exim Bank of China and the contract was awarded to China National Machinery Import and Export Corporation. [Photo:Xinhua/Gayan Sameera]](http://img0.zhytuku.meldingcloud.com/images/zhycms_chinaplus/20190108/a33e6fb1-c7d2-4b11-8c93-ec5c0c4a2599.jpg?x-oss-process=image/resize,w_650)
Ranatunga said he was hoping to officially inaugurate the railway line and open it to the public before the local Sinhala and Tamil New Year in April.
The new railway line is expected to increase traffic into the south and boost trade between capital Colombo and the deep south.
![A train pulls into a station during a test run along the newly constructed China-funded railway line in Beliatta, Sri Lanka, Jan. 6, 2019. The Sri Lankan Ministry of Transporton on Sunday conducted a test run along the newly constructed railway line between Matara and Beliatta in the south of the island country which will boost passenger traffic. The 26.75 km long Matara-Beliatta railway extension was financed by the Exim Bank of China and the contract was awarded to China National Machinery Import and Export Corporation. [Photo:Xinhua/Gayan Sameera]](http://img1.zhytuku.meldingcloud.com/images/zhycms_chinaplus/20190108/bd28b3c0-a1d3-41a4-bc24-5041999ef3bd.jpg?x-oss-process=image/resize,w_650)
The 26.75 km long Matara-Beliatta railway extension was financed by the Exim Bank of China and the contract was awarded to China National Machinery Import and Export Corporation.
A major portion of the construction was carried out by China Railway Group 5 (CR5) and Sri Lanka’s Central Engineering Consultancy Bureau (CECB) which acted as the consultant.
