Galle
Sri Lankan Railway Station
Entrance porch to Galle railway station
General information
Location	Galle Sri Lanka
Owned by	Sri Lanka Railways
Line(s)	Coastal Line (Sri Lanka)
Other information
Status	Functioning
History
Electrified	No

Galle railway station is a railway station in the southern city of Galle in Sri Lanka. Owned by Sri Lanka Railways, the state-run railway operator, the station is part of the Coast Line, which links Sri Lanka's south coast with the Colombo.

Location

Galle Station is located in the centre of Galle. It is just northwest of the Galle International Cricket Ground. Galle's City Hall is next to the station and the historic Galle Fort is a short distance from the station.

Layout

A Class Y shunting locomotive at Galle

Galle station is designed as a terminus station. Thus trains have to back out of the station to continue towards an onward destination. Passengers enter the station from the south and trains approach from the north.

The station's terminal layout has posed some problems in its operation, since all trains have to change directions and reverse out of the station to continue on to their destinations. This can cause long turn-around times and it places the passengers in the opposite direction of where they had been facing.

In 2011, diesel multiple units (DMU) were introduced, as part of a line upgrade. The DMUs reduce turn-around times as locomotives do not need to run around and change ends.

Architecture

The solid massing and geometry of Galle station demonstrates the mid-twentieth-century International Style.

Galle station is an example of Modernism. The station conforms to the International Style, and uses concrete massing to create a geometric form. Its minimalist walls and simple, bold forms offer a contrast from the highly ornamented, traditional and colonial architecture that surrounds it. Yet the building is symmetric, to tie back to the surrounding architecture and facilitate movement through the building towards the platforms. This contributes to the station's layout as a terminus station. The façade also demonstrates a contrast between the use of different materials. The ornament-free painted surface provides a contrast with the natural stone surface.

The portion of the building that houses the platforms is of a different, more utilitarian design. This features a metal structure that only covers the platforms, but not the trains.

Services

An old M4 locomotive at Galle Station

An intercity train at Galle station

Galle station is served by the Ruhunu Kumari, Galu Kumari, and Samudra Devi trains. Various other services also operate at Galle.^[1] Local trains within the Southern Province connect Galle with Matara, calling at local stations along the route.

See also

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Galle railway station.

• List of railway stations in Sri Lanka
• List of railway stations by line order in Sri Lanka

References