Demodera Loop – A unique Engineering Feat
Demodera-Loop is the only rail loop of its kind in the entire rail network of Sri Lanka. Passing Bandarawela, we come to a significant station called Demodera, which is 172 miles (276.8 km) from Colombo along the rail track. When the construction work came up to this point, it had to stop there. The engineers were in a dilemma not knowing which way to cut across due to the wide gap between two hills confronting each other. For a while, they even thought the Upcountry Main Line might have to be terminated at this place.
After much predicament, one of the greatest Sri Lankan engineers of the time D.J. Wimalasurendra decided to cut the line towards the left, around the hill at a gradual slope forming a full circle. The line had to descend at 1 foot to every 44 feet, thus plunging 100 feet below the level of the station.
The line by now had come below the hill. A tunnel 416 feet in length was then dug which brought the track to the other side of the bund. The open line now faced the opposite hill but the gap was not as wide as the top of the hill. A bridge was built across the two hills forming the famous Arc Bridge. From an aerial picture found at the Demodera Station, we can see how a complete circle of the rail line had finally emerged making the famous Demodera=Loop, to complete the road towards Badulla. The Demodera Station remained on top of the hill; the difference it now made was the tunnel underneath it.
This fascinating story is best summarized in the plaque displayed at the Station, which states:
“The construction of the track of this type is know as ‘looping to loop,’ as per the idea of late Mr. D.J. Wimalasurendra who was the greatest Sri Lankan engineer, to achieve the level differences by maintaining 1:44, which is the maximum allowable gradient in Sri Lankan Railways.”
DEMODERA LOOP - Back to Tea Trails
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