Sri Lanka inaugurates luxury train with help from India, connects Jaffna to Colombo

India and Sri Lanka crossed another significant landmark in bilateral ties as the island country launched a luxury train service with the help of a Line of Credit offered by India. The luxury train service connects the country’s Tamil-dominated Jaffna district to the capital city, Colombo.

The intercity rail service with all facilities was launched on Sunday, where India provided AC Diesel Multiple Units (AC DMUs) under the loan facility. The luxury train will travel from Colombo’s Mount Lavinia suburb to Jaffna’s Kankesanthurai port suburb in the north, covering a distance of approximately 386 km.

“Powering the railway infrastructure forward!! The train service launched today to the Northern Province highlights 2 key pillars of India’s development partnership with Sri Lanka – infrastructure development and country-wide focus,” Indian High Commission said on Twitter. Sri Lanka’s Minister of Transport Pavithra Wanniarachchi, who undertook the inaugural ride, was welcomed by India’s Deputy High Commissioner Vinod K Jacob at the Colombo Fort Station during the inaugural ceremony.

Read also: First Jan Shatabdi connecting the seven sisters of India flagged off by Tripura CM

“Hon’ble Minister @pavithrawannia1 inaugurated the AC Diesel Multiple Unit (DMU) supplied by @RITESLimited under an Indian credit line & launched the train service from Mt.Lavinia to KKS. She undertook the inaugural ride & was welcomed at the #Colombo #Fort Station by Deputy High Commissioner,” the Indian High Commission said in a tweet.

“This train service will facilitate people-to-people exchange and will lay emphasis on mutually beneficial cooperation between the two countries,” Jacob said. The train service will criss-cross the island nation, connecting Colombo with Kankesanthurai on the northern tip of the Jaffna Peninsula, which has a Tamil-majority population.

Wanniarachchi thanked the Indian government for its continued support to Sri Lanka in tackling the ongoing pandemic. “The supply of air-conditioned diesel multiple units is just one of the many railway projects being undertaken by India in Sri Lanka,” read an official statement. The statement further read, “There are also other ongoing projects, which include the supply of passenger coaches under an Indian Line of Credit.”

“India’s total development portfolio in Sri Lanka is over USD 3.5 billion, of which around USD 570 million are purely grant projects,” the Indian High Commission said in a statement. “Modernisation of railways and creation of new railway infrastructure has been important sectors of focus under the Indian Government’s development portfolio in Sri Lanka, in line with the priority of the government and people of Sri Lanka,” the statement added.

With inputs from PTI

Live TV

#mute

Read Full Article
'; $('div.listing').append(string); } }); }, error:function(xhr){ //console.log("Error"); //console.log("An error occured: " + xhr.status + " " + xhr.statusText); nextload=false; }, complete: function(){ $('div.listing').find(".loading-block").remove();; pg +=1; //console.log("mod" + ice%2); nextpath="&page=" + pg; //console.log("request complete" + nextpath); cat = "?cat=1176363"; //console.log(nextpath); nextload=(ice%2==0)?true:false; } }); } //lastoff = last.offset(); //console.log("**" + lastoff + "**"); });*/ var maindiv = false; var dis = 0; var fbcontainer=""; var fbid = ''; var fb_script=document.createElement('script'); fb_script.text= "(function(d, s, id) {var js, fjs = d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0];if (d.getElementById(id)) return;js = d.createElement(s); js.id = id;js.src="https://connect.facebook.net/en_GB/sdk.js#xfbml=1&version=v2.9";fjs.parentNode.insertBefore(js, fjs);}(document, 'script', 'facebook-jssdk'));"; var fmain = $(".sr2426881"); //alert(x+ "-" + url); var fdiv = '
'; //console.log(fdiv); //$(fb_script).appendTo(fmain); $(fdiv).appendTo(fmain); function fillElementWithAd($el, slotCode, size, targeting){ if (typeof targeting === 'undefined') { targeting = {}; } else if ( Object.prototype.toString.call( targeting ) !== '[object Object]' ) { targeting = {}; } var elId = $el.attr('id'); //console.log("elId:" + elId); googletag.cmd.push(function(){ var slot = googletag.defineSlot(slotCode, size, elId); for (var t in targeting){ slot.setTargeting(t, targeting } slot.addService(googletag.pubads()); googletag.display(elId); //googletag.pubads().refresh([slot]); }); } $(document).delegate("button[id^='mf']", "click", function(){ fbcontainer=""; fbid = '#' + $(this).attr('id'); var sr = fbid.replace("#mf", ".sr"); $(fbid).parent().children(sr).toggle(); fbcontainer = $(fbid).parent().children(sr).children(".fb-comments").attr("id"); }); function onPlayerStateChange(event){ var ing, fid; //console.log(event + "---player"); $('iframe[id*="video-"]').each(function(){ _v = $(this).attr('id'); //console.log("_v: " + _v); if(_v != event){ //console.log("condition match"); ing = new YT.get(_v); if(ing.getPlayerState()=='1'){ ing.pauseVideo(); } } }); $('div[id*="video-"]').each(function(){ _v = $(this).attr('id'); //console.log("_v: " + _v + " event: " + event); if(_v != event){ //jwplayer(_v).play(false); } }); } function onYouTubePlay(vid, code, playDiv,vx, pvid){ if (typeof(YT) == 'undefined' || typeof(YT.Player) == 'undefined') { var tag = document.createElement('script'); tag.src = "https://www.youtube.com/iframe_api"; var firstScriptTag = document.getElementsByTagName('script')[0]; firstScriptTag.parentNode.insertBefore(tag, firstScriptTag); window.onYouTubePlayerAPIReady = function() { onYouTubePlayer(vid, code, playDiv,vx, pvid); }; }else{onYouTubePlayer(vid, code, playDiv,vx, pvid);} } function onYouTubePlayer(vid, code, playDiv,vx, pvid){ //console.log(playDiv + "Get Youtue " + vid); //$("#"+vid).find(".playvideo-"+ vx).hide(); var player = new YT.Player(playDiv , { height: '450', width: '100%', videoId:code, playerVars: { 'autoplay': 1, 'showinfo': 1, 'controls': 1 }, events: { 'onStateChange': function(event){ onPlayerStateChange(event.target.a.id); } } }); $("#video-"+vid).show(); } function kalturaPlayerAPIReady(code, playDiv,pvid){ var dt=new Date; var nt=dt.getTime(); var vtitle = ""; var video_id_arr = code.split("https://zeenews.india.com/"); var youbora_video_id = video_id_arr[5].split("."); var youbora_video_id = '"' + youbora_video_id[0] + '"'; pre_roll = "https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/ads?sz=640x480&iu=/11440465/Zeenews_English_Video/Zeenews_English_Preroll&tfcd=0&npa=0&sz=640x480&gdfp_req=1&output=vast&unviewed_position_start=1&env=vp&impl=s&description_url="+vtitle+"&correlator="+nt; var sources ={}; var config = { targetId: playDiv, provider: { partnerId: 2504201 }, playback: { pictureInPicture : true, autoplay: true }, advertising: { adBreaks: [{ position: 0, ads: [{ url: [pre_roll] }] }] }, plugins: { youbora: { options: { "content.title": "Sri Lanka inaugurates luxury train with help from India, connects Jaffna to Colombo", "content.customDimension.1":"Zee News", "content.customDimension.2":"https://zeenews.india.com/", "content.customDimension.3":"2022-Jan-10 17:11:42", "content.customDimension.4":"Pallavi Mehra", "content.customDimension.5":"2426881", "content.customDimension.6":"Mobility,Railways,Luxury Train,India-Sri Lanka,Colombo", "content.id":youbora_video_id, "content.language":"English" } }, ima: { adsResponse: "" } } } var kalturaPlayer = KalturaPlayer.setup(config); if(kalturaPlayer){ kalturaPlayer.reset(); } var videoUrl = code; var mediaid = '"zn' + pvid + '"'; sources = { hls: [{ id: mediaid, url: videoUrl, mimetype: "application/x-mpegURL" }] } kalturaplayerSetup(kalturaPlayer, sources); if (typeof kalturaPlayer !== 'undefined') { doRegisterEvents(kalturaPlayer); } } function kalturaplayerSetup(kalturaPlayer, playbackType){ kalturaPlayer.setMedia({ plugins: {}, sources: playbackType }); } function doRegisterEvents(kalturaPlayer) { /* player event*/ kalturaPlayer.addEventListener(kalturaPlayer.Event.Core.PLAY, playEvent); kalturaPlayer.addEventListener(kalturaPlayer.Event.Core.PAUSE, pauseEvent); kalturaPlayer.addEventListener(kalturaPlayer.Event.Core.PLAYBACK_ENDED, playbackEndedEvent); /* ad event */ kalturaPlayer.addEventListener(kalturaPlayer.Event.AD_STARTED, adStartedEvent); kalturaPlayer.addEventListener(kalturaPlayer.Event.AD_COMPLETED, adCompletedEvent); kalturaPlayer.addEventListener(kalturaPlayer.Event.AD_SKIPPED, adSkippedEvent); kalturaPlayer.addEventListener(kalturaPlayer.Event.AD_CLICKED,adClicked); } var vlabel = "https://zeenews.india.com"+$(this).attr("video-path"); var isVideoPlayed = false; var isAdSkippedCompleted = false; function adStartedEvent(event) { var videotype = "zee english video"; gtag('event', 'Adstarted', { 'event_category': videotype, 'event_label': vlabel}); gtag('event', 'Play', { 'event_category': videotype, 'event_label': vlabel}); isVideoPlayed = true; isAdSkippedCompleted = true; } function adCompletedEvent(event) { var videotype = "zee english video"; gtag('event', 'Adcompleted', { 'event_category': videotype, 'event_label': vlabel}); isAdSkippedCompleted = true; } function adSkippedEvent(event) { var videotype = "zee english video"; gtag('event', 'Adskipped', { 'event_category': videotype, 'event_label': vlabel}); isAdSkippedCompleted = true; } function adClicked(event) { var videotype = "zee english video"; gtag('event', 'Adclicked', { 'event_category': videotype, 'event_label': vlabel}); } function playbackEndedEvent(event){ var videotype = "zee english video"; gtag('event', 'Complete', { 'event_category': videotype, 'event_label': vlabel}); } function playEvent(event) { var videotype = "zee english video"; if((isVideoPlayed) && (isAdSkippedCompleted)){ isAdSkippedCompleted = false; }else if((isVideoPlayed)){ gtag('event', 'resume', { 'event_category': videotype, 'event_label': vlabel}); }else{ gtag('event', 'Play', { 'event_category': videotype, 'event_label': vlabel}); isVideoPlayed = true; } } function pauseEvent(event) { var videotype = "zee english video"; gtag('event', 'Pause', { 'event_category': videotype, 'event_label': vlabel}); } function AdloadEvent(event) { var videotype = "zee english video"; gtag("event", "kaltura_adloaded", { "event_category": videotype, "event_label": vlabel}); } function AdProgressEvent(event) { var videotype = "zee english video"; gtag("event", "kaltura_adprogress", { "event_category": videotype, "event_label": vlabel}); } function adPausedEvent(event) { var videotype = "zee english video"; gtag("event", "kaltura_adpaused", { "event_category": videotype, "event_label": vlabel}); } /* End of Kaltura player function code */ $(document).delegate("div[id^='play']", "click", function(){ //console.log($(this).attr("id")); //console.log($(this).attr("video-source")); //console.log($(this).attr("video-code")); var isyoutube = $(this).attr("video-source"); var vurl = $(this).attr("video-path"); var vid = $(this).attr("id"); $(this).hide(); var pvid = $(this).attr("newsid"); var vx = $(this).attr("id").replace('play-',''); var vC = $(this).attr("video-code"); var playDiv = "video-" + vid + "-" + pvid; if(isyoutube =='No'){ kalturaPlayerAPIReady(vC, playDiv,pvid); }else{ onYouTubePlay(vid, vC, playDiv,vx, pvid); } }); $(document).delegate("div[id^='ptop']", "click", function(){ var vid = $(this).attr("id").replace('ptop',''); $(this).hide(); var pvid = $(this).attr("newsid"); var vurl = $(this).attr("video-path"); //console.log($(this).attr("id") + "--" + vid); //console.log($(this).parent().children().find('#play-'+vid).attr("video-source")); //console.log($(this).parent().children().find('#play-'+vid).attr("video-code")); var isyoutube = $(this).parent().children().find('#play-'+vid).attr("video-source"); var vC = $(this).parent().children().find('#play-'+vid).attr("video-code"); var playDiv = "mvideo-play-" + vid + "-" + pvid; if(isyoutube =='No'){ //console.log(jwplayer($(this).attr("id")).getState()); kalturaPlayerAPIReady(vC, playDiv,pvid); }else{ onYouTubePlay($(this).attr("id"), vC, playDiv, vid, pvid); } }); var nxti = 3; var ci = 1; var nxti_1 = 6; var nxti_2 = 9; var nxti_3 = 12; if($.autopager==false){ var use_ajax = false; /*var disqus_shortname="zeehindi"; var disqus_identifier; //made of post id and guid var disqus_url; //post permalink function loadDisqus(source, identifier, url, nid) { if (window.DISQUS) { //alert("if"); jQuery('
').insertAfter(source); jQuery('#disqus_thread').insertAfter(source); //append the HTML after the link //if Disqus exists, call it's reset method with new parameters DISQUS.reset({ reload: true, config: function () { this.page.identifier = identifier; this.page.url = url; } }); }else{ jQuery('
').insertAfter(source); disqus_identifier = identifier; //set the identifier argument disqus_url = url; //set the permalink argument //append the Disqus embed script to HTML var dsq = document.createElement('script'); dsq.type="text/javascript"; dsq.async = true; dsq.src="http://" + disqus_shortname + '.disqus.com/embed.js'; jQuery('head').append(dsq); } };*/ /*$('.disqusOn').live( "click", notify ); function notify() { identifier = $(this).attr('id'); dUrl = $(this).attr('disqus-url'); source = $(this).parent(); loadDisqus(jQuery(this), identifier, dUrl); }*/ function loadshare(curl){ history.replaceState('' ,'', curl); if(window.OBR){ window.OBR.extern.researchWidget(); } //console.log("loadshare Call->" + curl); //$('html head').find('title').text("main" + nxtTitle); if(_up == false){ var cu_url = curl; gtag('config', 'UA-2069755-1', {'page_path': cu_url }); if(window.COMSCORE){ window.COMSCORE.beacon({c1: "2", c2: "9254297"}); var e = Date.now(); $.ajax({ url: "/marathi/news/zscorecard.json?" + e, success: function(e) {} }) } //console.log('ga:'+r); /*(function () { var ga = document.createElement('script'); ga.type="text/javascript"; ga.async = true; ga.src = ('https:' == document.location.protocol ? 'https://' : 'http://') + 'stats.g.doubleclick.net/dc.js'; var s = document.getElementsByTagName('script')[0]; s.parentNode.insertBefore(ga, s); })();*/ //console.log("loadshare Call"); } } if(use_ajax==false) { //console.log('getting'); var view_selector="div.center-section"; // + settings.view_name; + '.view-display-id-' + settings.display; var content_selector = view_selector; // + settings.content_selector; var items_selector = content_selector + ' > div.rep-block'; // + settings.items_selector; var pager_selector="div.next-story-block > div.view-zn-article-mc-all-2017 > div.view-content > div.clearfix"; // + settings.pager_selector; var next_selector="div.next-story-block > div.view-zn-article-mc-all-2017 > div.view-content > div.clearfix > a:last"; // + settings.next_selector; var auto_selector="div.tag-block"; var img_location = view_selector + ' > div.rep-block:last'; var img_path="
Loading
"; //settings.img_path; //var img = '
' + img_path + '
'; var img = img_path; //$(pager_selector).hide(); //alert($(next_selector).attr('href')); var x = 0; var url=""; var prevLoc = window.location.pathname; var circle = ""; var myTimer = ""; var interval = 30; var angle = 0; var Inverval = ""; var angle_increment = 6; var handle = $.autopager({ appendTo: content_selector, content: items_selector, runscroll: maindiv, link: next_selector, autoLoad: false, page: 0, start: function(){ $(img_location).after(img); circle = $('.center-section').find('#green-halo'); myTimer = $('.center-section').find('#myTimer'); angle = 0; Inverval = setInterval(function (){ $(circle).attr("stroke-dasharray", angle + ", 20000"); //myTimer.innerHTML = parseInt(angle/360*100) + '%'; if (angle >= 360) { angle = 1; } angle += angle_increment; }.bind(this),interval); }, load: function(){ $('div.loading-block').remove(); clearInterval(Inverval); //$('.repeat-block > .row > div.main-rhs2426881').find('div.rhs2426881:first').clone().appendTo('.repeat-block >.row > div.main-rhs' + x); $('div.rep-block > div.main-rhs2426881 > div:first').clone().appendTo('div.rep-block > div.main-rhs' + x); $('.center-section >.row:last').before('

Next Story

'); //$(".main-rhs" + x).theiaStickySidebar(); var fb_script=document.createElement('script'); fb_script.text= "(function(d, s, id) {var js, fjs = d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0];if (d.getElementById(id)) return;js = d.createElement(s); js.id = id;js.src="https://connect.facebook.net/en_GB/sdk.js#xfbml=1&version=v2.9";fjs.parentNode.insertBefore(js, fjs);}(document, 'script', 'facebook-jssdk'));"; var fmain = $(".sr"+ x); //alert(x+ "-" + url); var fdiv = '
'; //$(fb_script).appendTo(fmain); $(fdiv).appendTo(fmain); FB.XFBML.parse(); var $dfpAd = $('.center-section').children().find("#ad-"+ x); xp = "#star"+x; //var $dfpAdrhs = $('.main-rhs' + x).children().find('.adATF').empty().attr("id", "ad-300-" + x); //$('.content-area > .main-article > .row > .main-rhs'+x).find('#ad-300-' + x); //var $dfpAdrhs2 = $('.main-rhs' + x).children().find('.adBTF').empty().attr("id", "ad-300-2-" + x);//$('.content-area > .main-article > .row > .main-rhs'+x).find('#ad-300-2-' + x); //var $dfpMiddleAd = $('.content-area > .main-article > .row').find('#ar'+x).find('#ad-middle-' + x).empty(); //fillElementWithAd($dfpAdrhs, '/11440465/Zeenews_English_Web/Zeenews_English_AS_ATF_300x250', [[300, 250], [300, 600]], {}); //fillElementWithAd($dfpAdrhs2, '/11440465/Zeenews_English_Web/Zeenews_English_AS_BTF_1_300x250', [300, 250], {}); //fillElementWithAd($dfpMiddleAd, '/11440465/Zeenews_Hindi_Article_Middle_300x250_BTF', [300, 250], {}); var instagram_script=document.createElement('script'); instagram_script.defer="defer"; instagram_script.async="async"; instagram_script.src="https://platform.instagram.com/en_US/embeds.js"; /*var outbrain_script=document.createElement('script'); outbrain_script.type="text/javascript"; outbrain_script.async="async"; outbrain_script.src="https://widgets.outbrain.com/outbrain.js"; var Omain = $("#outbrain-"+ x); //alert(Omain + "--" + $(Omain).length); $(Omain).after(outbrain_script); var rhs = $('.main-article > .row > div.article-right-part > div.rhs2426881:first').clone(); $(rhs).find('.ad-one').attr("id", "ad-300-" + x).empty(); $(rhs).find('.ad-two').attr("id", "ad-300-2-" + x).empty(); //$('.main-article > .row > div.article-right-part > div.rhs2426881:first').clone().appendTo('.main-article > .row > div.main-rhs' + x); $(rhs).appendTo('.main-article > .row > div.main-rhs' + x); */ setTimeout(function(){ var twit = $("div.field-name-body").find('blockquote[class^="twitter"]').length; var insta = $("div.field-name-body").find('blockquote[class^="instagram"]').length; if(twit==0){twit = ($("div.field-name-body").find('twitterwidget[class^="twitter"]').length);} if(twit>0){ if (typeof (twttr) != 'undefined') { twttr.widgets.load(); } else { $.getScript('https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js'); } //$(twit).addClass('tfmargin'); } if(insta>0){ $('.content > .left-block:last').after(instagram_script); //$(insta).addClass('tfmargin'); window.instgrm.Embeds.process(); } }, 1500); } }); /*$("#loadmore").click(function(){ x=$(next_selector).attr('id'); var url = $(next_selector).attr('href'); disqus_identifier="ZNH" + x; disqus_url = url; handle.autopager('load'); history.pushState('' ,'', url); setTimeout(function(){ //twttr.widgets.load(); //loadDisqus(jQuery(this), disqus_identifier, disqus_url); }, 6000); });*/ /*$("button[id^='mf']").live("click", disqusToggle); function disqusToggle() { console.log("Main id: " + $(this).attr('id')); }*/ $(document).delegate("button[id^='mf']", "click", function(){ fbcontainer=""; fbid = '#' + $(this).attr('id'); var sr = fbid.replace("#mf", ".sr"); //console.log("Main id: " + $(this).attr('id') + "Goodbye!jQuery 1.4.3+" + sr); $(fbid).parent().children(sr).toggle(); fbcontainer = $(fbid).parent().children(sr).children(".fb-comments").attr("id"); //console.log(fbcontainer); //var commentsContainer = document.getElementById(fbcontainer); //commentsContainer.innerHTML = ''; }); /************Player Code ***********/ var title, imageUrl, description, author, shortName, identifier, timestamp, summary, newsID, nextnews; var previousScroll = 0; //console.log("prevLoc" + prevLoc); $(window).scroll(function(){ var last = $(auto_selector).filter(':last'); var lastHeight = last.offset().top ; //st = $(layout).scrollTop(); //console.log("st:" + st); var currentScroll = $(this).scrollTop(); if (currentScroll > previousScroll){ _up = false; } else { _up = true; } previousScroll = currentScroll; //console.log("_up" + _up); var cutoff = $(window).scrollTop() + 64; //console.log(cutoff + "**"); $('div[id^="row"]').each(function(){ //console.log("article" + $(this).children().find('.left-block').attr("id") + $(this).children().find('.left-block').attr('data-url')); if($(this).offset().top + $(this).height() > cutoff){ //console.log("$$" + $(this).children().find('.left-block').attr('data-url')); if(prevLoc != $(this).children().find('.left-block').attr('data-url')){ prevLoc = $(this).children().find('.left-block').attr('data-url'); $('html head').find('title').text($(this).children().find('.left-block').attr('data-title')); $('meta[name=description]').attr("content",$(this).children().find('.left-block').attr('data-summary')); $('meta[name=keywords]').attr("content",$(this).children().find('.left-block').attr('data-keyword')); $('meta[name=news_keywords]').attr("content",$(this).children().find('.left-block').attr('data-keyword')); pSUPERFLY.virtualPage(prevLoc,$(this).children().find('.left-block').attr('data-title')); //console.log("Summary: " + $(this).children().find('.left-block').attr('data-summary')); //console.log("Keyword: " + $(this).children().find('.left-block').attr('data-keyword')); //history.pushState('' ,'', prevLoc); loadshare(prevLoc); } return false; // stops the iteration after the first one on screen } }); if(lastHeight + last.height() < $(document).scrollTop() + $(window).height()){ //console.log("**get"); url = $(next_selector).attr('href'); x=$(next_selector).attr('id'); //console.log("x:" + x); //handle.autopager('load'); /*setTimeout(function(){ //twttr.widgets.load(); //loadDisqus(jQuery(this), disqus_identifier, disqus_url); }, 6000);*/ } //lastoff = last.offset(); //console.log("**" + lastoff + "**"); }); //$( ".content-area" ).click(function(event) { // console.log(event.target.nodeName); //}); /*$( ".comment-button" ).live("click", disqusToggle); function disqusToggle() { var id = $(this).attr("id"); $("#disqus_thread1" + id).toggle(); };*/ //$(".main-rhs2426881").theiaStickySidebar(); var prev_content_height = $(content_selector).height(); //$(function() { var layout = $(content_selector); var st = 0; ///}); } } }); /*} };*/ })(jQuery); .