The Sri Lankan Government on Saturday resumed train services to the former rebel-held town of Kilinochchi after 23 years.
President Mahinda Rajapaksa launched the train service linking Colombo to the northern town of Kilinochchi.
Kilinochchi was the de-facto capital of the LTTE during the civil war that lasted for nearly three decades.
The war ended in May 2009 with the defeat of the LTTE.
The opening of the railway line connecting the north and south comes as the minority Tamil community, which dominated the north, prepares to go to the polls this month for the first time in more than 20 years to elect a provincial council.