Sri Lanka's first train south since tsunami hit

ABOARD THE GALLE PRINCESS in Sri Lanka, Feb 22 (Reuters) - Some stared in disbelief, others came close to tears aboard Sri Lanka's first train south since a tsunami swept 1,000 passengers to their deaths last December.

As the Galle Princess neared the village of Telwatta on the southern coast, passengers confronted the scene where the earlier train was swamped by the Indian Ocean island's worst natural disaster.

Sitting opposite them on a stretch of parallel track were the remains of the ill-fated Sea Queen, its rust-coloured carriages now a tangled mess of iron and wire.