My wife told me recently that she loves all the trips that I’ve planned. “Even the Sri Lankan overnight train?”
“Yes, even that one,” she says with a laugh. It’s an inside joke because that was definitely an experience. Our trip to Sri Lanka began and ended at the international airport in Colombo. To get there from our beach stay in Trincomalee, however, we had decided to take an overnight train.
We felt like we have a good idea what to expect because I had researched Sri Lankan trains on the Man in Seat 61 website (I wrote about that in a previous post). I booked two adjoining compartments in a Night Mail 1st Class car. So my first tip is to make sure you know what you’re getting into. It’s not Eurail, but it will get you where you need to go on time.
We had pre-ordered our tickets and picked them up while driving from Colombo to Yala. We used a company listed on the Seat61 site and had no issues. Our taxi dropped us off at the Trincomalee Rail Station with about 45 minutes until the train departed. I had a brief panic attack when the station attendant said my tickets were for the next day, but he just misread the date. My second tip is to double check your tickets. There’s a small restaurant at the station to buy snacks. Then just climb aboard and wait for the train to pull out. Ours departed at 7 p.m.
You won’t see much landscape since it will be close to nightfall. Get some sleep instead. The sleeper berths cost $10 each, compared with $3 for the third class seats and $5 for the second class seats. Considering that the berths are the only lie-flat option on an overnight train, I recommend splurging. The sheets on the bunks are clean but old, so manage expectations accordingly. Our biggest mistake was leaving our snacks out overnight and finding what was left covered in ants and roaches in the morning. Not a pleasant discovery, but not exactly the train company’s fault either.
The train pulls into Colombo Fort station at 3:30 am. We actually felt less safe on the 40 minute tuk-tuk ride from Fort station to the airport. Some drivers will try to direct you to their tuk-tuks. Use the ones parked in the train station parking lot instead of the ones curbside.
We made it to the airport with plenty of time and enjoyed our overnight train ride.
If you go
- Use Seat61 to research the train schedule
- Keep your belongings with you
- Eat your food or pack it to keep critters out