It would be so easy, like so many other KZread rail travel channels, to find fault in this mode of travel because it is not up to "First World" standards. Instead, this video and its presenter treated this mode of travel in a respectful and knowledgeable manner, without one single wiff of First World snobbery. Thank you for an informative and entertaining video.

@stuartcastle2814

5 ай бұрын

In fairness, Britain is supposedly a first world country (it doesn't feel like it ATM, but it is). We still had trains that were based on buses. Look at the Pacers. Sadly, I never got to ride one, but by all accounts there were awful.

@stuartcastle2814

4 ай бұрын

@Trainrhys Thanks, and don't get me wrong. I wasn't criticising them. They may not have been great for commuters, but they served their purpose well, and, in all likelihood, had they not existed, several areas of the country would not have a local train service now.

@rajk.9098

4 ай бұрын

There is no first or third world. We live in the same world. The only difference is resources and privileges.

@KenanTurkiye

4 ай бұрын

I love them and I have a folder about them come take a ride! (at folder 4) :)) 🚅🚈🚞🚝🚂🚃🚄 trains, trams, aren't they all beautifull

@stuartcastle2814

4 ай бұрын

@@rajk.9098 First and third world are economic terms.. First world is the one with the privileges, and in some cases, the resources.

"Pacer of The East", I'd call it.

@ArchiezAviation

5 ай бұрын

Fitting name

@Okiea

5 ай бұрын

I’m fairly certain that the Ashok leyland busses in srilanka are the same busses that the pacer is based on

@kriss_b

5 ай бұрын

That was my initial thought when I saw it.

@SalmanMentos

5 ай бұрын

​@@OkieaPacers are based on the Leyland National not Ashok Leyland

@akilanelango8997

5 ай бұрын

@@SalmanMentos And Ashok Leyland is the company licensed to sell Leyland national buses in the Indian Subcontinent.

Somehow this rural journey on two old bus conversions holds more excitement than travelling on a swish express train. Great video.

@vijayafernando1

3 ай бұрын

In Sri Lanka the journey is as exciting as reaching the destination

@TheMrPeteChannel

2 ай бұрын

It's a $h!t service.

I came here for all the Pacer comments and oh boy I wasn't disapointed😂😂😂 But let's make this clear: such vehicles, despite all of their shortcommings, saved many rail route from being abandoned.

@BlackHawkTejas

5 ай бұрын

Exactly! Naysayers will say many things but at the end this, bus railcar is serving the people who need it the most. And a country that is in some serious debt & financial issues/crisis, this the best they can afford/own & run. Not everything can be perfect or super modern every time.

@andrewsaxon4314

4 ай бұрын

My feelings on the two trains are this: it's respectable to see a railbus put together through hard graft with few resources, but the pacer was a mark of disrespect to provincial England by a far wealthier establishment, like a millionaire making you eat dog food.

@74HC138

4 ай бұрын

The Pacer ended up costing more than the class 150 Sprinter after all the remediation work that had to be done. If anything, the Pacer threatened rail routes. Typical half-measure Britain: make something worse which ends up being more expensive.

Sri Lanka looks awesome...semaphore signals, crews who like railfans and let you see the cab, interlocking towers. Neat ride!

despite its obsolete facilities and decoration, the station is surprisingly clean, 10/10 for a developing nation!

@xcel5203

3 ай бұрын

They may be a poor country but the people are nice,courteous and hygiene conscious.

@aaronleverton4221

3 ай бұрын

Colombo may have been the cleanest city I've experienced in Asia.

@KanishQQuotes

3 ай бұрын

Sri Lanka is a very nice place. The people have the highest percentage of Organ donation in the world

@user-yp6kn2uw4k

2 ай бұрын

@@KanishQQuotes 😵‍💫😵‍💫😱😱🤯😖

I love these rural trains

Really getting Pacer Bus vibes from this Rail Bus and do find them a little cute being honest, Great video

As an old bus driver, I think it was a nice trip 👍

We had something similar in Germany called _Uerdinger Schienenbus_ (rail bus), affectionately called _Rote Brummer_ (Red Buzzer) due to the loud noise it made. Many of them were retired in the 1990s and replaced by the larger and more modern Schienenbus. The last ride I had was in the spring 1989 between Waldshut-Tiengen and Koblenz, Switzerland. The Schienenbus had to travel very extremely slow across the ancient bridge over Rhine river.

@UnnormaI

5 ай бұрын

A lot of them survived and are used on heritage lines like on the Kasbachtalbahn and occationally for excursions.

@kuchenblechmafiagmbh1381

5 ай бұрын

There were basically two types of the Uerdinger Schienenbus, the VT95/795 (single engine) and VT98/798 (two engines), but also the MAN Schienenbus (which was only sold to private EVUs but not the then federal Deutsche Bundesbahn). The class 628 is ssen as their successor and these themselves got replaced by other DMU railcars like the Alstom Coradia LINT, Bombardier Talent, Siemens Desiro Classic. But from the late 50s into 1995 we also had the battery powered railcar class ETA 150/515 and battery powered are seemingly coming back now.

@roderickjoyce6716

4 ай бұрын

The DR (East German) class 771 railbus was known as the Ferkeltaxi (piglet taxi) from its use on rural lines. German visitors to the UK might like to know that British Railways ordered some railbuses from Wagen-und-Maschinenbau in the late 1950s, and four have been preserved on heritage lines - two are on the Worth Valley line in Yorkshire.

@James-kv6kb

4 ай бұрын

In Adelaide Australia we have buses that travel on cement tracks I think we bought them from Germany , called the o-barn

@jolibethrodriguez7471

3 ай бұрын

In Uruguay the Civico-Military Dictadorship bought a lot including Trailers, they didn't mix well with Uruguay's warm and humid climate and the general corruption of state then monopolistic rail operator AFE (the toolboxes were stold and re-sold before the units leaved the port) and the horrible state of the Tracks and no one managed to get work continously for more than five years before breaking down, being scrapped or fixed after a few years lf abanment in a cycle that only ends when all units are scrapped They also were asthetically similar to a lot of Leyland Olympix EL44.3 bought by bus operator AMDET in 1963, mainly the three piece front windshields

Crazy how sri lanka can provide public transpor to its most rural and poor communities but in amerca we cant get a bus to a neighbourhood 20min outside the city

@anonymousfuck9320

Ай бұрын

Yeah, The greatest country on earth

Wonderful!!! I just love Sri Lanka; it's people, stunning views, and most of all, it's rails. It may be old, it may be rickety, but it has something to it, that none other has

You know the insane thing? Ashok Leyland was an Indian bus company affiliated with Leyland Buses of the UK... Leyland Buses of the UK were the ones responsible for the legendary Pacers in the UK 😂 These are literally Asian Pacers lol 🤣

@xcel5203

3 ай бұрын

Ashok Leyland is still around and building the latest technology transportation facilities.

@kikiadventure8574

2 ай бұрын

leyland?? friends of finn Mcmissile?

That trip must be the best 36p you have ever spent! Excellent video.

I’m also a railway geek from Sri Lanka. This is one of the best comprehensive reviews I have seen on KZread. Appreciate your time and effort and would like to see more train reviews of Sri Lanka ♥️💪🏼

Sri Lanka recently put the rail bus on the mainline, I saw it the other day at Polgahawela lol! The rail bus is quite iconic and was meant to be used to connect small cities (ex:- cities between Colombo and avissawella) I myself have never gone on one but have seen many videos of it. Hope you do more reviews on the Sri Lankan railways!

Pacer: finnaly a worthy opponent

@ryannevery844

5 ай бұрын

There's a lot in common between the two but I think the Ashok-Leyland takes it on Sri Lankan ingenuity alone given it was basically scrap or service, Pacer is a creature comfort compared to this

I love tourists who like to explore differently.they get the best experiences in sl

@SuperalbsTravels

4 ай бұрын

It was well worth doing all the research! :)

Loved it. The Sri Lankan Railway ought to develop this Railbus service as a tourist attraction . It is unique , innovative, economical and value for money too. Forctourist they can have air-conditioned "bus" coaches with plush seats with onboard catering services too. UNESCO has saved the Toy train in Darjjeking in India and also on many other railway routes of the British Era in India this Trainbus service deserves the same too.

What a charming little inside into a country I know nothing about, thank you for making this. I loved your honest, open-minded, welcoming and calming delivery!

@chestuntin

4 ай бұрын

Which part of earth are you from?

6:44 That's an S13 Class DEMU built by ICF, Chennai, India! Uses few of the common parts & components from Vande Bharat Express. 10:32 In India, Bangladesh,Sri Lanka you will find many such vendors selling food items. In India some are authorised sellers but most of them are not, they just sell their goods.

@oPlazmaMC

5 ай бұрын

Probably makes better money than if you'd just sell it in a village.

@BlackHawkTejas

5 ай бұрын

@@oPlazmaMC Yup! They just decide in which time/train they will travel to avoid any conflict with each other. And the rest of the day some of them sell at their local area. Win-Win for all.

@oPlazmaMC

5 ай бұрын

@@BlackHawkTejas okay

Wow.! Amazing short documentary , i never experience this type of experience as a Sri Lanakan... you did brilliant job as a tourist but feel like a Local guy.

A very similar sort of thing was done in the Soviet Union in the 1960s, with the Hungarian bus called Ikarus. These operated in modern-day Abkhazia, Georgia.

@lontongstroong

5 ай бұрын

Japan also used to have some of these on a few rural lines, although none remains (just like many rural conventional lines) due to intense depopulation of the countryside.

@PyhisPahis

2 ай бұрын

I've been on a Ikarus trolleybus in Tallin, Estonia sometime in early 2000

@markolysynchuk5264

2 ай бұрын

@@PyhisPahis Ikarus buses are still used in some post-Soviet countries, but sadly very few remain.

Dude this is amazing, I've been a Sri Lankan my whole life and never knew about this. Probably cause it's up in the North. Thanks dude, great coverage and superb narration!

@KanishQQuotes

3 ай бұрын

You must be a mall rat

Ashok Leyland Engine sound❤❤❤❤❤ Powerful clear Roar

I was undergoing training at the Rathmalana Railway Workshops in 1987 when railway was experimenting the railbus made out of busses concept with Dimo-Benz buses that was completed and went on a trial run to Aluthgama (Southern track). At the same period the refurbishment was done for W1 locomotives that got new Caterpillar engines and rebadged as W3.

I used to wish public transport in Srilanka to be better, but after coming abroad I realized how dirt cheap public transport in Srilanka is compared to here. If they're to provide similar quality then of course they'll have to increase the prices which won't be feasible for the average Srilankan.

Great ride! Thought about going to india but maybe Sri Lanka is better after all! 😃

@manjukasoysa3901

4 ай бұрын

For it's size, not many other places have as much to do or see

@xcel5203

3 ай бұрын

Nice country , good people.

As a sri lankan im proud of my country and thankyou for shareing this vid i respect you

@SuperalbsTravels

2 ай бұрын

Thank you so much :)

Sri Lankan's seem to be really nice people. I know some of it is talk to the foreigner syndrome, but still.

In Australia we have a bus that converts to a train so it can either be driven through the city as a bus or travel along the tracks

Thanks for sharing! I love Sri Lanka and I was just updating the Railbus page on Wikipedia- I too could find nearly no info on railbuses in Sri Lanka- congratulations on making the best resource I have ever seen on the subject!!

I think you have to experience scenery like this while hanging out of a slowly moving vehicle. Maybe it gets old if you live there, but it's fantastic for visitors.

The moment when a citizen goes "damnnnn I didn't know that"... inspirational!

I think you do a better job at this than Chris Tarrant. No hyperbole, no hamming it up for the cameras, just straight facts. A great review and a great taste of Sri Lankan life and culture.

Really enjoyed this mate, not just the train but the countryside too and the quirky little stations were absolutely fascinating. Not bad for 36p! One of your best vids imho 👍

Ashok Leyland (a heir to British Leyland) is the second largest vehicle producer in India. It mostly produces trucks (like Tusker or electric eComet), as well as buses (like City Transit or Titan Double-decker). It has still some relationship with British market, as, thanks for being a heir of Leyland, which was sold by Volvo, acquired 26% of another bus company, Optare (known for Solo minibuses and Metrocity standard length city buses, they also introduced the E1 bus series for European market).

@sidrp

5 ай бұрын

Ashok Leyland has no relationship with the British Leyland now. The only relationship they have is with Hinduja. We have a subsidary for electric buses called Switch, which is global and aquired Optare.

@Retroelectronic

4 ай бұрын

What's ironic is that Optare was the spiritual successor to Charles H. Roe coachbuilders which was accquired by BL and became Optare as a result of a management buy-out after BL collapsed

@KilarSk21

4 ай бұрын

Is anyone ask you ?

@Retroelectronic

4 ай бұрын

@@KilarSk21 I didn't ask for your opinion if that's what you mean

Amazing little railbus... I would love to ride it..

@face_thereality

5 ай бұрын

Me too! It would be a great way to experience travel like a local

Ashok Leyland buses are known for reliability and kong term support, even multiple accidents can't totally destroy one. With proper maintenance they can easily run over 50 yrs

Would I ride it? Sure would! Love these little rural lines and the quirky old railbus ❤ Thanks for bringing this trip into my home 👍

I've been a fan of the channel for about a year but this video is the best so far and had me laughing out loud at some of the commentary. The video is proof that interesting videos don't just have to be about the latest and fastest trains.

As a Sri Lankan, I remember riding a similar railbus back in 2003 or 2004. 🙂 It was a different route and I'm sure there was more than one railbus was running at the time. As you have mentioned it was a really rough ride. Almost like riding a flat tyred cycle. No wonder given that the vehicle is basically a bus without air filled tyres! However I believe this vehicle is a very economical solution to rural areas and feel bad that soon it will disappear. 😒

Even though Sri Lanka defaulted due to its debts, the Chinese built really good road infrastructure and brought some real estate boom in the cities. India has started modernizing its stations, Railways, Roads.. But I think Sri Lanka is much cleaner and much less dusty than Indian cities with the fact that many states with higher GDP per capita than srilanka dont have as cleaner infrastructure as SL has. Kudos to the people 😊 I think he will show us the city in next of his videos, I commented before watching, otherwise the Village life in quite similar and give awsm vibes..

@BlackHawkTejas

5 ай бұрын

Don't get too cocky! India was the country that saved Sri Lanka from defaulting & provided a large sum of money & essential items! Dusty? Do you know the reason? I don't think so! And not all Indian states are dusty! The states get dusty due to the Thar desert, all the winds coming from Middle East, The Great Deccan Plateau & due to mining + due to all the construction that goes on. Sri Lanka is hardly have any large or big industries that will pollute as much, unlike India, which has many large & big industries. Yes! Cleanliness is something India can improve upon! But there are many states that aren't really covered by foreigners or aren't as publicly published that are a lot cleaner. Definitely this is one area India needs to improve & is improving. Sri Lanka's main source of income is tourism so they need to maintain cleanliness! Always appreciate you have helped you in your difficult times instead of getting all cocky & BS attitude. Also generalizing doesn't help & from your comment it's aptly clear you have very little knowledge about India. And how India convinced the IMF to give the loan to SL, after India gave them assurance.

@vedants.vispute77

5 ай бұрын

@@BlackHawkTejas Why are you offended? I can comment whatever are my opinions. I dont need an explanation bro dont waste your time spread positivity instead.

@BlackHawkTejas

5 ай бұрын

​@@vedants.vispute77LoL! Really? I can also give opinions & provide you with facts & truth! Why are you so averse to that? Sit down & chill! Providing background to your comment because you don't seem to know what you are saying! Whatever you want to say?? LoL! So I gave context & you got offended but you think on a public video sharing site, only you have the right to comment & someone providing data to is not right? 😂😂 You need to give an explanation!! You think you can yap anything you like! You better remember what you are saying & whether what you said was the truth or not! You getting offended only means you didn't say the truth & don't like someone correcting that.

@nimanthaathisvara6446

5 ай бұрын

​​@@BlackHawkTejas who said you tourism main source of income in sri lanka Tourism only contribute 12% from our entire economy And sri lankan always think surrounding must be clean and should be maintain not because of the tourism 😅😅 And you said we don't have industries What a funny idea We have industries too but they are under rules which help to care environment First find proper details before comment 😂😂

@nimanthaathisvara6446

5 ай бұрын

Hey bro not every infrastructure developed by china We have road development authority and urban development authority And sri lankan pay taxes to develop and maintain infrastructure You indian think everything built by china Because of your narrow knowledge of sri lanka and fake news by your indian media And we more care about cleanness We are still best country in whole south asia with highest hdi

Lines with such little village halts are always a quirky oddity. In my home country of Denmark they arent super common anymore but a few are still around. Mostly as branch lines, managed independently from the state railway network, like the Køge to Faxe Ladeplads/Rødvig line near Copenhagen. But probably the best example is the VLTJ, or Vemb-Lemvig-Thyborøn line in the far west of Denmark. Probably the most rural rail line in the country. It runs with small 2 car diesel trains dating back to the 1980's, and some departures are even free to ride to schoolchildren can go to school in the bigger towns without needing to pay. In a year the old trains on the line will however be replaced by state of the art battery trains by Siemens. Simon Andersen has already done a trip report on the old trains.

@michaelknapp9091

4 ай бұрын

In Austria we still have such little village railways, like kzread.info/dash/bejne/nH-u0qlwaM7VosY.html

This amazing video. Thank you for coming to Sri Lanka and recording this wonderful service.

I can tell how much fun you had during this journey! it's awesome to see such variety of trip reports on your channel

Enormously well-made videos and that good researched. Chapeau!

@SuperalbsTravels

4 ай бұрын

Thank youuu! :)

Takes the term "railbus" to a whole other level. :-) I've known about the overwhelming use of railbuses or small DMUs on Sri Lankan rural lines for years, but it's nice to have a video guide that shows them up close. I like that even the rural stations in Sri Lanka are tidy, pleasant and with nice shops, even if the railways clearly need a lot more modernization in multiple areas.

Your sinhala pronouncations are incredible , even some words I find so hard to believe it is spoken by a foreigner. As a Sri Lankan I am very glad to you that you did not make any bad complain about our railway system. You have got lot of effort to cover only good things. As a local if I did this video, I probably end up doing lot of critics. I really appreciate your effort.

That's Sri Lanka's version of a Pacer Train from the UK.

Hats off for this amazing video on our railways! 😍😍

I travelled on the Viceroy Special private hire train recently. One of our steam hauled trains terminated here. The railbus seems to be driven from the cab in direction of travel. You were in the station master's office, not the signalbox. I have been in both.

In Poland these physical tokens are called ‘berło’ - a sceptre. When I didn't know about that, I was very surprised to see a yellow sign with the text ‘PUT THE SCULPTURE DOWN’ next to a tramway. Now I know that sometimes during modernisations these tokens are temporarily used by our trams. And I've seen them many times now, they are small key-like metal objects instead of something big and visible and they are either to be put in a special box locked with a tram key or handed directly to another driver.

Converting buses and sometimes also semi trucks for passenger rail service has a very long history. There are several examples at locations all over the world. Personally I remember the Sylter Inselbahn at the Frisian island Sylt. For their LT4 they combined a Borgward semi truck with a bus and put it on meter gauge train wheels.

This is like the bus’s version of the human centipede in a more amazing, wholesome kinda way. 😅

very interesting and informative film, re: the British Railways railbuses which were mentioned at the end of the film, these are supposed to have been removed from front-line services and only exist at museum railways, some of which also offer visitors train rides

I enjoyed watching it. Thank you for taking the time to make a documentary

I love how serious this review is, it's easy to present it as some third world exotica but you gave it the same respect as any other train service!

I love how fence poles on the station are made from rails

While I've ridden most of the other trains in Sri Lanka, I haven't gone on a rail bus since they didn't operate around my town as other trains frequently goes through it. Looks like you had quite a good time exploring these routes! At 5:35 , it looks like a stretcher, required to be carried on all trains, to be used in case somebody is injured on the way, or worse. On other trains, stretchers and other first aid equipment are kept with the guard's compartment.

Wow such a Detailed video. Love from Srilanka ❤

Thank you very much for coming to sri lanka and creating this great documentary about our railway transport 😊

Great journey! It’s nice to see a Trip Reporter routinely travelling outside of the Anglosphere. Keep the quality content coming 👍

very calming and peacful ride through the lush and green route.

Sri Lanka looks more beautiful in your video, thanks for visiting come again brother !

Super interesting video! And the production value is great!

WOW! Fantastic journey, magic! Now I would visit Sri Lanka also to ride this train!

What an imaginative solution

I m sri lankan and I even get to know of this by your channel

6:57 checks to ensure he has the right token. Failure to do that caused a major head-on collision at Abermule, Wales, in 1921 when a driver failed to notice he had been handed back the token for the section he had just passed through instead of for the next section, which was already occupied..

Wooow such a cool experience! Thanks for the video😘

How do you NOT have MORE Subscribers??? I Love your videos man!

Speaking of railbuses, you'd better check out Japan's Asa Kaigan Railway (more like dual-mode rail and bus though) in Tokushima Prefecture. Perhaps you can check that out when you revisit Japan.

Well researched , Good journalism mate 💯

That 6.1L AL 370 (0.370) engine sound is iconic

awesome really appreciate your hard work you put in your videos

That's so cool! What a unique experience

I love your videos! It is an pacer just a bit weirder.

Great journey !!!

Super cool ! It would be nice if exist some these rail buses in Brazil too

Another India Sri Lanka friendship example without any loan and conquer benefits. The smartest and amazing people on earth Long live indo Lankan relationship ❤️

Meanwhile MAV Ikarus 260: There were some similar projects in Poland too for example two rebuilt technical trains connected together (SN81) or "Mitor" - two Żuk trucks connected together. and also don't forget about Pacer (metioned in comments like 1000 times)

Such a wonderfully quaint & enjoyable journey 🚆

Wow. Quite the experience! And what a bargain. ✌️ Also enjoying your music choices. 👌

That strategically placed "..er.." made it even funnier.

5:10 Those old school seats look so comfy. If Finnish VR would change all their fancy seats to these I would probably use trains. Now they are just unbearable with back pain starting in 15 minutes, in an hour I just want to get out and after two hours I'm literally crying from pain. Even local trains with zero padding are better for my back. Heck, even a hard floor and a wall to lean against would be better.

Railroad i rough state, no comfort..... but it works, locals can afford it, no electronics to be bothered by some potholes, and if it breaks anyone can fix it cause it's a "homemade" bus.... I often wish we in the West would be more appreciative towards old but sturdy and easy to fix Things that can go for Ages, instead of scrapping thousands of ten Year old Trains or Cars just because they don't run on the latest Smartphonetechnology....

My favorite video of yours so far

Great video! I am a native from North Western Province, SL. Never abled to see a rail bus in my own eyes though. I use the Puttalam railway line and we only have locomotives and push-pull power sets.

@SuperalbsTravels

4 ай бұрын

Thanks for watching! I do love those loco-hauled sets as well. :)

Actually a good idea. Thanks for the journey.

Such serene visuals!

Thats adorable and i love it

I haven't seen you for a long time, but I'm glad you're well. How it feels to drive with the doors open.

@SuperalbsTravels

3 ай бұрын

I'm good thanks! The open doors were great. :)

looks equal parts fun and terrifying. I love it

Great trip report

What a wonderful journey.

This is so cool!!

Cool video! In Ukraine, at the beginning of the 20th century, there were also rail buses that connected Lviv (one of the largest cities) with the nearby small towns around it. They were called "Lux Torpeda", which meant "high-speed carriage", because at that time they could accelerate to a fantastic speed of up to 100 km/h on straight sections of the railway. Currently, a shunting locomotive with 1-2 cars of the 3rd class or a motor-car train with 3-4 cars runs on routes with a low passenger flow.

Thank you.

Great job on pronunciation of Sinhala placenames! You pretty much nailed on most of the words.

@SuperalbsTravels

4 ай бұрын

Thanks! 😃