Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who is on a visit to Sri Lanka, along with President Anura Kumara Dissanayake, on Sunday jointly inaugurated and flagged off key India-backed railway projects in Anuradhapura.

The railway projects marked a significant milestone in the growing bilateral infrastructure cooperation between the two nations. At a formal ceremony held at the Anuradhapura Railway Station, the two leaders launched two major projects — the upgraded railway track of the Maho-Omanthai line and the newly constructed signalling system for the Maho-Anuradhapura segment.

| Anuradhapura, Sri Lanka: PM Narendra Modi and Sri Lankan President Anura Kumara Dissanayake jointly launch the signalling system for the Maho-Anuradhapura railway line—a project supported by the Indian government

They also jointly flagged off a train at Anuradhapura… — ANI (@ANI)

The two projects were executed with Indian assistance and are expected to significantly improve connectivity and safety across the northern rail network. PM Modi and the Lankan President were welcomed by large crowds of locals at the station as they arrived. Many people in the crowd captured the moment on their phones. The railway projects have been implemented by IRCON International Limited, a Public Sector Undertaking (PSU) under the Ministry of Railways, Government of India.

“Today is a very fortunate day that our Prime Minister, Narendra Modi, and the President of Sri Lanka together are dedicating to the nation an upgraded railway project spanning 128 kilometres, which was in a very bad condition earlier,” IRCON CMD Hari Mohan Gupta told news agency IANS. “It’s a moment of great honour for India and Sri Lanka,” he added.

The two leaders had on Saturday also held wide-ranging discussions in Colombo aimed at strengthening bilateral cooperation across various sectors. Following the talks, Prime Minister Modi was conferred with the Sri Lanka Mitra Vibhushan, one of the island nation’s highest civilian honours — a recognition of India’s unwavering support and the Prime Minister’s personal contribution to deepening bilateral ties.

The day also witnessed the signing and exchange of several Memorandums of Understanding (MoUs), with both leaders jointly unveiling new India-supported initiatives across infrastructure, energy, and development sectors.

The Prime Minister departed for India after concluding a “very productive” visit to Sri Lanka where he held extensive talks with President Anura Kumara Dissanayake and witnessed the signing of several agreements to boost cooperation in sectors such as defence, energy and digitalisation.

Modi arrived in the Sri Lankan capital from Thailand, where he attended a summit of the BIMSTEC (Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation).

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