Overview | |
---|---|
Official name | Tunnel No. 14 |
Other name(s) | Poolbank Tunnel |
Location | Hatton, Sri Lanka |
Coordinates | 6°53′52.85″N80°36′16.23″E / 6.8980139°N 80.6045083°E |
Status | Open |
Route | Main Line |
Start | Hatton |
End | Kotagala |
Operation | |
Constructed | F. W. Faviell |
Owner | Sri Lanka Railways |
Traffic | rail |
Technical | |
Design engineer | Guilford Lindsey Molesworth |
Length | 562 m (1,844 ft) |
Highest elevation | 1,291 m |
Width | 5.5 m (18 ft) |
Singha Malai Tunnel or Poolbank Tunnel is the second longest railway tunnel in Sri Lanka. [1] [2] [3]
There are 46 tunnels along the Main Line between Colombo and Badulla. The longest tunnel is the Poolbank tunnel between Hatton and Kotagala, which is 562 m (1,844 ft) long, [4] 5.5 m (18 ft) wide [5] and has a curvature in the middle so that one end of the tunnel cannot be seen from the other. [6] . It was the longest railway tunnel in the county until the construction of Kakunadura tunnel at Nakuttiyagama, as part of the project to extend the railway line from Matara to Beliatta.In the middle of the tunnel the gradient begins to decline, as the Kotagala railway station is approximately 23 m (75 ft) lower than the Hatton railway station. [7]
The tunnel was designed by Sir Guilford Lindsey Molesworth, the first Director-General of Railways in Ceylon (1865-1871) and constructed by F. W. Faviell. [3] The tunnel's construction represented a significant engineering feat at the time, as it was bored from both ends meeting in the middle. [8] The tunnel was named the Poolbank tunnel as it runs under the Poolbank tea estate, which was established in 1880. [9] It is also called Singha Malai tunnel, after a nearby rock formation, Singha is Tamil for 'Lion' and Malai for 'Mountain'.
A tunnel is an underground or undersea passageway. It is dug through surrounding soil, earth or rock, or laid under water, and is enclosed except for the portals, commonly at each end. A pipeline is not a tunnel, though some recent tunnels have used immersed tube construction techniques rather than traditional tunnel boring methods.
Hatton is a major town in the Nuwara Eliya District of Central Province, Sri Lanka governed by the Hatton-Dickoya Urban Council. Hatton is a major centre of the Sri Lankan tea industry.
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The Sri Lanka Railway Department is Sri Lanka's railway owner and primary operator. As part of the Sri Lankan government, it is overseen by the Ministry of Transport. Founded in 1858 as the Ceylon Government Railway, it operates the nation's railways and links Colombo with other population centres and tourist destinations.
Udarata Menike is a daytime passenger train that runs between Colombo and Badulla in Sri Lanka.
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The Uma Oya Hydropower Complex (also internally called Uma Oya Multipurpose Development Project or UOMDP) is an irrigation and hydroelectric complex currently under construction in the Badulla District of Sri Lanka. Early assessments of project dates back to 1989, when the first studies was conducted by the country's Central Engineering and Consultancy Bureau. The complex involves building a dam across Dalgolla Oya, and channelling water over a 3,975 m (13,041 ft) tunnel to Mathatilla Oya, both of which are tributaries of the Uma Oya. At Mathatilla Oya, another dam is constructed to channel 145,000,000 m3 (5.1×109 cu ft) of water per annum, via a 15,290 m (50,160 ft) headrace tunnel to the Uma Oya Power Station, where water then discharged to the Alikota Aru via a 3,335 m (10,942 ft) tailrace tunnel. The Alikota Aru is a tributary of the Kirindi Oya.
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