Mangaluru Junction is among the three stations in Mangaluru Railway Area that can be introduced beneath South Western Railway from October 1 in Mangaluru.
| Picture Credit score: H.S. MANJUNATH
Keralam Chief Minister V.D. Satheesan’s assertion that bringing the Mangaluru Railway Area beneath South Western Railway’s Mysuru Division from Southern Railway’s Palakkad Division would have an effect on railway improvement in Keralam solely corroborates the oft-repeated grievance of coastal Karnataka that railway revenues from Mangaluru have been getting used to develop railway infrastructure within the neighbouring State, claimed Pashchima Karavali Railway Yatri Abhivriddhi Samithi and different railway patrons.
The demand for jurisdictional realignment has been voiced in coastal Karnataka ever because the formation of SWR in 2003. Although a call to this impact was taken in 2006, it was by no means notified. The gazette notification was lastly issued late on Friday.
Keralam’s objection
Mr. Satheesan has known as the Railways’ “unilateral determination” unacceptable and mentioned the federal government would take up the difficulty with Prime Minister Narendra Modi. His predecessor, Pinarayi Vijayan, has additionally objected to the transfer.
Responding to those developments, Samithi president G. Hanumanth Kamath instructed The Hindu that the Samithi and railway patrons had lengthy underlined the “lopsided railway infrastructure improvement” within the Mangaluru area by Southern Railway. Greater than half of the Palakkad Division’s income, about ₹800 crore a 12 months, got here from the Mangaluru area, notably from New Mangalore Port. But, Southern Railway had neither launched trains connecting totally different components of Karnataka nor developed infrastructure within the area, he mentioned.
Many railway patrons from the coastal area took to social media on Saturday to spotlight what they described as “lopsided improvement” that didn’t favour coastal Karnataka when the Mangaluru railway area was beneath the Palakkad Division.
Railway patron P. Ramesh Rao mentioned the one practice sanctioned between Bengaluru and Mangaluru, the primary launched after gauge conversion, was prolonged to Kannur as a substitute of Karwar.
Historic determination
Minister of State for Railways V. Somanna mentioned the Union authorities had taken a “historic” determination to fulfil the long-standing demand of the folks and rail passengers of coastal Karnataka. He mentioned Mangaluru was one of many first cities he visited in July 2024 to carry a high-level assembly with Railway officers.
Dakshina Kannada Member of Parliament Captain Brijesh Chowta, who pursued the difficulty with the Centre, mentioned he, together with different coastal MPs, would press for the merger of Konkan Railway Company Ltd. with the Indian Railways and the doubling of its community. He mentioned bettering the railway line on the ghat stretch and doubling the Mangaluru-Bengaluru line would even be amongst his priorities.
The street forward
Speaking in regards to the street forward, G. Hanumanth Kamath mentioned the inclusion ought to facilitate the introduction of extra trains connecting Mangaluru with totally different components of Karnataka. For example, precedence needs to be given to extending the Mumbai CSMT-Mangaluru Junction-Mumbai CSMT Categorical and the Yeshwantpur-Mangaluru Junction-Yeshwantpur Gomateshwara Categorical to Mangaluru Central, as initially sanctioned, he argued. He mentioned the Palakkad Division had been denying their extension. He mentioned the Palakkad Division had been denying their extension.
The following step needs to be the reintroduction of the Mangaluru Central-Miraj Mahalakshmi Categorical, which was cancelled because of gauge conversion in 2003, and the Mangaluru Central-Shri Mata Vaishnodevi Katra Navyug Categorical. This needs to be adopted by enhanced connectivity to different areas, Mr. Kamath mentioned.
Former member of SWR’s Zonal Railway Customers’ Consultative Committee from Bengaluru, Paraksh Mandoth mentioned the decades-long struggle for justice had lastly been fulfilled. He recalled relentlessly pursuing the difficulty with then Railway Minister Nitish Kumar and his successors. In the meantime, Mudit Mittal, Divisional Railway Supervisor, Mysuru, instructed The Hindu: “After the Onam celebrations, our group will go to Palakkad, or a group from Palakkad could go to Mysuru, to debate the modalities of the takeover.”
Printed – August 22, 2026 07:59 pm IST
