After passing the tunnel from Ella town, you can see the nine arches bridge. What is this?
The Nine Arches Bridge, known as the ‘Bridge in the Sky,’ was built by connecting two wetland mountains when building the Badulla – Colombo railway. This bridge stands 300 feet in length, 25 feet in width, and 80-100 feet in height. It is one of the country’s best samples of colonial-era railway construction.
Built at 3100m above sea level, it forms a bypass between Demodara and Ella Railway stations.
This bridge has not used a single piece of steel; it is made of brick, stone, and cement and is still strong since 1921.
While in addition to this history, myth abounds about the creation of the bridge. The term viaduct has derived from the Latin meaning “road” and ducere meaning “to lead.” It is a 19th-century derivation from an analogy with ancient Roman aqueducts. Like the Roman aqueducts, many early viaducts comprised a series of arches of roughly equal length.
Trains should pass the bridge at 9:30 am, 11:30 am, 3:30 pm, 4:30 pm, and 5:30 pm. However, the scheduled times for the well-known Sri Lankan train journey are rough, and sometimes it can be late.
