The new railway track was vested with the public under the patronage of Minister of Transport and Civil Aviation Arjuna Ranatunga in accordance with the project themed ‘Dakunu Lakata Aluth Magak’ (New Road to Southern Sri Lanka).

Concurrent to the inaugural ceremony of Matara-Beliatta railway line, new railway stations at Piladuwa, Weherahena, Kekanadura, Bambarenda, Wewrukannala and Beliatta will be declared open.A feasibility study on constructing a new 100km-long railway line from Matara to Kataragama was conducted in 1990 and the foundation stone for the project was laid in 1992.

In 2005, it was decided that the Southern railway track should be extended up to Beliatta and the Transport Ministry had entered an agreement with a Chinese company in 2010 to establish this railway line which is 26.75 km in length.In 2013, the Finance Ministry signed an agreement for a concessionary loan of USD 278 million with the Export-Import (Exim) Bank of China.

The first test run on the newly constructed Matara-Beliatta railway track was conducted on January 6th, 2018. Subsequently, on 8th April 2018, an air-conditioned train powered by Class S12 Diesel engines set off its maiden journey on the railway track.Seven trains are scheduled to commute from the newly built Beliatta railway station while 6 trains will conclude their journeys there.