Sri Lanka national railway museum - Kadugannawa

Visiting the National Railway Museum in Kadugannaawa, Sri Lanka, is an experience that might leave you more disappointed than inspired. While you might expect a well-preserved slice of history, what you’ll find is a collection of rusty old trains and equally neglected train parts. The museum feels more like a junkyard than a celebration of Sri Lanka’s rich railway heritage.

What’s truly ironic is that the national railways themselves serve as a far better "living museum" than this official one. Sri Lanka’s railways are a marvel, with well-kept stations and ancient trains still running. As you travel through the country, you’ll encounter pre-war safety systems still in use—no GPS, no modern traffic lights, no automatic signaling. Instead, you’ll see train operators and station masters engaging in the old colonial-era tradition of throwing physical metal disks in leather rings to each other, part of a safety system that dates back to the British colonial period.

In stark contrast, the museum itself is just a sad collection of poorly maintained relics. The trains, which should be the stars of the show, are left to rust in the open air. The exhibits lack context, organization, and care. If you’re hoping for a meaningful exploration of Sri Lanka’s railway history, you’re better off riding the actual trains than visiting this so-called museum.