Sri Lanka train tickets come in two kinds. Reserved seats on a named train are sold from 30 days ahead on the official Sri Lanka Railways seat reservation site and at station counters. Unreserved second and third class tickets are bought at the station or on the railway’s Pravesha site. When we checked on 8 November 2026, the Coast Line and the lines to Jaffna, Trincomalee, Batticaloa and Talaimannar had trains on sale. On the Main Line no trains were reported running between Rambukkana and Nanu Oya: the stretch to Peradeniya and Gampola, reopened on 2 October, was suspended again on 25 October.
Key takeaways
- Reserved seats open 30 days before travel and close two hours before departure, up to five seats a booking, with a 5% online fee.
- Since August 2025 a foreign traveller’s reserved ticket carries their passport number, and you show the original passport on board. Tickets can’t be transferred.
- Unreserved tickets are the cheap option. Pravesha sells them online up to seven days ahead, in second and third class only, and they aren’t valid on intercity trains.
- When we searched on 8 November 2026, the booking site had no Colombo to Kandy or Badulla train for 24 November. Trains between Badulla, Ella and Nanu Oya were on sale.
Reserved or unreserved: the two kinds of ticket
A reserved ticket gives you a seat on one train on one date. The system picks the seat, so you can’t choose a window or a side (reservation FAQ). Reserved seats are sold mainly on intercity, express and night mail trains. The official FAQ lists reserved services from Colombo Fort to Beliatta, Jaffna, Kandy, Badulla, Trincomalee, Batticaloa, Talaimannar and Avissawella, plus Kandy to Badulla.
Pravesha is the railway’s own site and app for unreserved e-tickets. An unreserved ticket, which Pravesha calls a commuter or “normal ticket”, covers one trip between two stations on one date. It isn’t tied to a train, so you can take any train that day (Pravesha FAQ). There’s no seat number. The Man in Seat 61 (updated 10 June 2026) says virtually all trains carry unreserved cars and those tickets can’t sell out (Seat 61).
| Ticket | Where to buy | How far ahead | Classes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Reserved seat | Official seat reservation site or app, or a counter at one of the listed stations | 30 days to 2 hours before departure | Observation, air-conditioned saloon, second, third |
| Unreserved, online | Pravesha site or app | Up to 7 days | Second and third only |
| Unreserved, at the station | Any station ticket office | On the day | Second and third |
On the Colombo to Galle and Matara line, Seat 61 says virtually all seats are unreserved. For 24 November 2026 we found reserved seats on only two Colombo Fort to Galle trains.
How to book Sri Lanka train tickets on the official site
The official Sri Lanka train booking website is seatreservation.railway.gov.lk, which the railway runs with SLT-Mobitel as its technology partner. Since 14 March 2024 every reserved seat, including those sold at station counters, comes from the same online system (Fact Crescendo). The steps, from the railway’s FAQ and terms on 8 November 2026:
- Search by stations, date and number of passengers. Buying needs an account.
- Pick a train and class from the list. The site shows each train’s departure, arrival and fare.
- Enter a passport number for each passenger. Up to five seats go on one booking, and a return can be added in the same purchase.
- Pay by Visa, MasterCard, American Express, Diners Club or Discover card, or by LANKAQR. A 5% convenience fee is added.
- The e-ticket arrives by email. The FAQ says stations issue no paper ticket, so you travel on the e-ticket, on your phone or printed.
A local mobile number is optional: the FAQ says it only adds an SMS with the booking details. We didn’t test whether sign-up itself needs one. Seat 61 reports that a test booking accepted overseas credit cards.
The FAQ gives no time of day for new seats. According to Wikivoyage, first and second class seats go on sale at 10am each morning, and resellers often buy them up within minutes. If a search shows nothing, the FAQ lists three reasons: no seats left, no train that day or no seats released online. It suggests fewer passengers, other stations or a station counter.
Refunds and cancellations
Cancelling means a visit in person: bring the e-ticket and passport to a counter at one of the listed stations. The service charge is never refunded. The ticket fee comes back on this scale (booking terms):
| When you cancel | Refund of the ticket fee |
|---|---|
| More than 7 days before departure | 75% |
| Between 48 hours and 7 days before | 50% |
| Less than 48 hours before | Nothing |
When the railway cancels a train for a strike, bad weather, a track fault or another emergency, you can claim the ticket fee back. That claim is also made in person at one of those counters. If your card was charged but no ticket arrived, the terms say the full payment goes back through the payment system, which may take 14 to 30 days. Pravesha tickets follow their own rule: a refund of up to 70%, requested a day before travel, and no date or class changes.
Passports, names and resold tickets
Sri Lanka Railways began checking identity on every reserved booking on 15 August 2025, with full enforcement from 1 September. Foreign travellers give their passport number when they book, online or at a counter. They then show the original passport at boarding and at ticket checks (Sunday Times). “The person with the credentials has to be the one who travels,” the railway’s general manager told the paper. Unreserved tickets were not affected.
The rule was aimed at agents who bought seats in bulk and resold them to tourists at high prices, especially on the hill-country trains. If you’re booking from Australia:
- Book with the passport you will carry on the trip, and type the number exactly.
- Each name on a booking needs its own passport number, and tickets are “non-transferable”, in the FAQ’s word.
- Resale sites such as 12Go and Bookaway are sellers, not the railway. If you use one, make sure the ticket is issued against your own passport number.
The ETA you need to enter Sri Lanka is separate and free for Australians; our Sri Lanka visa guide covers it.
Train classes and what you get
The booking site’s FAQ names four reserved classes: observation, air-conditioned saloon, second and third (reservation FAQ). Some night trains also have second class sleeperettes, which Ada Derana describes as sleeper seat carriages. The notes below are from Seat 61 and Rough Guides (Rough Guides).
| Class | Reserved? | What to expect |
|---|---|---|
| Observation saloon | Always | First class car with large rear windows, mainly on Colombo to Badulla trains; Seat 61 says it sells out almost as soon as booking opens |
| Air-conditioned saloon | Always | First class with sealed windows, on intercity and night trains |
| Second class | Reserved cars on some trains, otherwise unreserved | Padded seats and fans |
| Third class | Reserved cars on a few trains, otherwise unreserved | Basic and often crowded |
Free luggage, by the railway’s terms, is 40 kg on a first class ticket, 35 kg on second and 25 kg on third. Children under three travel free if they share a parent’s seat, one child per adult (booking terms). The terms are unclear on three-year-olds.
Sri Lanka train ticket prices
Reserved fares below are what the official booking site showed on 8 November 2026 for travel on Tuesday 24 November. Unreserved fares come from the railway’s unreserved fare notice, which carries no date. Australian dollar figures use the Central Bank’s indicative rate of LKR 230.23 to AUD 1 on 6 November 2026.
| Journey from Colombo Fort | Class | Fare | About AUD |
|---|---|---|---|
| Galle | Air-conditioned saloon, reserved | LKR 1,100 | 4.80 |
| Matara | Air-conditioned saloon, reserved | LKR 1,400 | 6.10 |
| Weligama | Second / third, unreserved | LKR 550 / 280 | 2.40 / 1.20 |
| Jaffna | Air-conditioned saloon, reserved (day train) | LKR 3,200 | 13.90 |
| Jaffna | Second class reserved (night mail) | LKR 1,900 | 8.30 |
| Trincomalee | Air-conditioned / second reserved (night) | LKR 2,900 / 1,800 | 12.60 / 7.80 |
| Batticaloa | Second class reserved (day train) | LKR 2,000 | 8.70 |
| Anuradhapura | Second / third, unreserved | LKR 750 / 360 | 3.30 / 1.60 |
On the hill section the fares from Badulla to Ella matched those from Ella to Nanu Oya: LKR 2,500 for the air-conditioned saloon, LKR 1,700 in second and LKR 1,200 in third. Online bookings add the 5% fee, and fares change, so search your own date before you budget.
Which train lines are running (8 November 2026)
Cyclone Ditwah damaged rail routes in late November 2025, and the lines reopened one by one from December 2025. Trains returned from Colombo Fort to Peradeniya and Gampola on 2 October 2026, but not as far as Kandy station, and a landslide closed that stretch again on 25 October.
| Line | Status when we checked | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Coast Line: Colombo Fort, Galle, Weligama, Matara, Beliatta | Running; reserved seats on sale to Galle, Matara and Beliatta for 24 November | Seat reservation site |
| Main Line: Colombo to Kandy, Hatton and Nanu Oya | Reopened to Peradeniya and Gampola on 2 October 2026, short of Kandy; Rambukkana to Peradeniya and Gampola suspended from 25 October; on 26 October the only hill trains left were Nanu Oya to Badulla | Ada Derana, 2 October; Newswire, 25 October; Newswire, 26 October |
| Main Line: Nanu Oya, Ella, Badulla | Running since 20 June 2026; reserved trains listed for 24 November | Ada Derana |
| Northern Line: Anuradhapura, Jaffna, Kankesanthurai | Colombo Fort to Kankesanthurai resumed on 9 April 2026 | News 1st |
| Trincomalee line | Colombo Fort to Trincomalee resumed on 20 December 2025; see our Trincomalee guide | Sri Lanka Railways notices |
| Batticaloa line | The Meenagaya intercity resumed on 23 February 2026 | Ada Derana |
| Talaimannar line, via Anuradhapura and Mannar | Daily train from 24 July 2026 | Newswire |
On 8 November the booking site listed no train with seats from Colombo Fort to Kandy, Peradeniya or Badulla for 24 November. In our searches of news sites and the railway’s notices we found no report of the Main Line reopening after 26 October. Before the landslide, the railway’s general manager told News 1st on 1 October that trains from Colombo to Kandy were planned to restart in January. Our Sri Lanka travel updates page keeps the wider list of changes.
Sri Lanka train timetable: where to find it
The railway’s own timetable wasn’t available. On 8 November 2026 its schedule page said “Train Schedule Page Under Development” (Sri Lanka Railways). The FAQ’s older timetable link had an expired security certificate. That leaves the booking site’s search, which shows times for every train with reserved seats, and the departure boards and ticket offices at stations. Pravesha warns that timetables show the expected schedule, not delays or cancellations.
These are the times the booking site listed for 24 November 2026, leaving Colombo Fort unless shown:
| Train | Leaves | Arrives |
|---|---|---|
| Express to Galle and Matara | 2.40pm | Galle 5.05pm, Matara 6.09pm |
| Express to Galle and Matara | 3.50pm | Galle 6.10pm, Matara 6.52pm |
| Intercity to Jaffna and Kankesanthurai | 5.45am | Jaffna 11.49am |
| Night mail to Jaffna | 8.00pm | Jaffna 3.47am |
| Express to Trincomalee | 9.30pm | Trincomalee 5.30am |
| Intercity to Batticaloa | 6.00am | Batticaloa 2.51pm |
| Express to Talaimannar Pier | 3.50pm | 10.28pm |
| Badulla to Nanu Oya, via Ella | Ella 9.50am and 3.51pm | Nanu Oya 12.22pm and 6.23pm |
Coming back from the south coast, reserved trains left Galle at 6.48am and 7.15am for Colombo Fort.
Weligama and the south coast by train
Weligama, 142.8 km down the Coast Line from Colombo Fort, lies between Galle and Matara (station list). For 24 November the booking site offered no reserved seat from Colombo Fort to Weligama. So you ride unreserved, at LKR 550 in second class or LKR 280 in third. Weligama is also missing from the booking site’s list of counters that print and sell reserved tickets and handle refunds. The nearest listed counters are Galle and Matara.
From the airport there is no through train. Our Colombo airport to Weligama guide covers the bus and train combination and the road options. The coast train also stops at Galle; see our guide to things to do in Galle Fort.
If the hill-country line is suspended
The section from Nanu Oya through Ella to Badulla was running when we checked on 8 November 2026, so one option is to reach Nanu Oya by road and take the train from there. Our Kandy to Ella train guide has the road times and that section’s timetable.
For 24 November the booking site listed seats from Badulla and Ella towards Nanu Oya but nothing from Nanu Oya to Ella, so search both directions. Smartraveller’s advice for Sri Lanka, updated on 14 August 2026 and still current on 8 November, is to exercise a high degree of caution. It tells Australians to ask local authorities or their travel provider about conditions before any road or rail trip into the central hill districts it names, Kandy, Nuwara Eliya and Ella among them (Smartraveller). To cover the gap by car, see our guide to the cost of hiring a driver; getting around Sri Lanka compares buses, tuk-tuks and flights.
If your booked train is cancelled, claim the refund at a listed counter. When the line closed on 25 October, the department said reserved seat holders on cancelled trains could get a full refund at any railway station, Newswire reported. Reopenings appear in the railway’s media notices.
On the day: stations, luggage and safety
On the booking site’s list of counters, Colombo Fort is open 24 hours for ticket collection, Galle from 6am to 6pm and Matara from 5am to 6pm. Seat 61 places the reservations office at counter 17, towards the left-hand end of the station front.
Keep your passport with your e-ticket, since staff can check both at any point, and hand the ticket in at your destination station as the terms ask. Pravesha asks you to keep your phone charged or carry a printout; do the same with a reserved e-ticket.
The same Smartraveller page says safety standards on trains may be lower than in Australia and that there have been fatal railway accidents in recent years. It also warns that theft occurs. The UK Foreign Office, when we read its advice on 8 November 2026, said visitors had died after hanging out of open doorways or windows on moving trains. It tells travellers to stay within the carriage while the train is moving (GOV.UK).
Sri Lanka train tickets: your questions
Can I book Sri Lanka train tickets online from Australia?
Yes. The official site takes Visa, MasterCard, American Express, Diners Club and Discover cards, and the e-ticket comes by email. You need an account, and each passenger’s passport number goes on the ticket.
How far in advance should I book?
Reserved seats open 30 days before travel. Popular trains sell out fast, so book the day your date opens. Unreserved tickets need no planning: buy them at the station or up to seven days ahead on Pravesha.
Do I need to print my train ticket?
No. The official FAQ says stations issue no paper ticket and you can travel on the e-ticket, on your phone or printed. Carry the passport whose number is on it.
Is 12Go the official Sri Lanka train booking site?
No. 12Go and Bookaway resell tickets. The railway’s own sites are seatreservation.railway.gov.lk for reserved seats and pravesha.lk for unreserved tickets.
What happens if my train is cancelled?
The terms let you claim back the ticket fee, without the service charge, in person at a listed station counter. Bring the e-ticket and your passport.
If you’d like to plan the legs the trains don’t cover, send us your travel dates.
On 8 November 2026 we ran searches on the booking site, read the railway’s booking terms, fare notice and media notices, and went through the rail news. Lines close and reopen at short notice.
Hero photo: platforms at Colombo Fort railway station, by A.Savin, Free Art Licence, via Wikimedia Commons.
