yet implemented. Inter-city routes connect many of the country's major population centres. Some service is available on the E01 and E03 expressways, with modern Lanka Ashok Leyland buses. In 2011, the SLTB began introducing new buses to replace part of its aging fleet. The Volvo 8400 buses, from Volvo India, run on major routes in Colombo. The most popular model is the Lanka Ashok Leyland Viking, which is operated by the SLTB and several private companies. Automobiles Sri Lanka modern transportation dates back 120 years, to 1902. When the first ever car entered Sri Lanka 8 HP single cylinder Rover brought down by Edgar Money, a local British businessman. Road at the time were barely build and linked only a few key towns around the island. Prior to 1960s, British and European car brands such as Ford, Mini, Rolls-Royce and Rover dominated the post-colonial Sri Lanka automobile market. Purchasing an automobile was once a luxury reserved for the upper crust of society, as vehicle imports was closely regulated, and taxes exorbitant. In the 1960s, there was an abrupt halt to the influx of vehicles to Sri Lanka when the Government ban all imports in order to fix a foreign exchange deficit. However, there have been various car assembly efforts since the 1980s. Upali Corporation assembled Fiat and Mazda vehicle. However, by the mid-1980s, it was finished. Rail Sri Lanka Railways consists of an intercity network connecting major population centres and commuter rail serving Colombo commuters. Sri Lanka Railways operates the country's railway network, which includes about of track. Colombo is its hub. Trains connect the main cities of the country's nine provinces. Most of the railways were developed during the British colonial period, with the first line (from Colombo to Kandy) opening on 26 April 1867. The railway was introduced as an economical means of transporting goods produced on the tea, rubber and coconut plantations to the main port in Colombo. After 1950s, the Sri Lankan economy became focused on industry rather than plantation agriculture. The road network also grew; with the introduction of lorries, a faster means of transporting goods, the amount of goods transported by rail declined. Since their network is more focused on plantation areas than on population and service centres, the railways have generated large losses. Their potential for expansion was demonstrated when Minister of Transport Leslie Goonewardene extended the coastal line from Puttalam to Aruvakalu