Brittas Urges Vaishnaw To Withdraw Mangaluru Transfer From Palakkad Division
22 Aug 2026 5:48 PM IST22 Aug 2026 5:48 PM IST
In a letter to Vaishnaw, Brittas said the Railway Board's communication dated August 21 proposes to transfer the Mangaluru area with effect from October 1.
CPI(M) MP John Brittas | Source: X
New Delhi: CPI(M) MP John Brittas has urged Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw to withdraw the proposed transfer of the Mangaluru area from Palakkad division of Southern Railway to Mysuru division of South Western Railway, saying the move would have "serious implications" for railway development in Kerala. In a letter to Vaishnaw, he said the Railway Board's communication dated August 21 proposes to transfer the Mangaluru area with effect from October 1.
"This proposed transfer would further erode the territorial and financial strength of Palakkad division, which has already suffered substantial losses of jurisdiction through successive railway reorganisations over the decades," he said.
The Rajya Sabha member said when Palakkad division was constituted in 1956, its jurisdiction extended over approximately 1,247.58 route km, which was progressively reduced through multiple reorganisations.
"Finally, in 2007, with the creation of Salem Division, as much as around 550 km of route were carved out of Palakkad Division, reducing its present jurisdiction to roughly 582.7 route km," he said.
He said Palakkad, "once one of the major and oldest railway divisions in independent India", has after successive bifurcations been reduced to one of the ten smallest railway divisions in the country and the smallest in Southern Railway.
"The latest move would further weaken its operational and financial capacity, with inevitable implications for its ability to sustain, expand services, introduce new trains and undertake much-needed infrastructure and capacity augmentation," Brittas said.
Referring to the creation of Salem Division in 2007, he said the move had generated serious apprehension in Kerala regarding the viability and future of Palakkad Division.
He said the Union Government had sought to assuage those concerns, including through an assurance of a modern coach factory, which eventually translated into the Kanjikode Rail Coach Factory project.
"Yet, despite the land acquisition and expenditure incurred, the project never became operational," Brittas said, adding that the Ministry had officially admitted in an answer to his Rajya Sabha question on July 31, 2026, that the project had been dropped.
On the proposed transfer, Brittas said, "The significance of Mangaluru to Palakkad Division cannot be reduced to a question of administrative geography. The Mangaluru area is the financial and operational backbone of the Division."
He said more than 90 per cent of the division's freight revenue is generated from the Mangaluru area, with the freight and marshalling yard facility at Panambur constituting a critical component of its freight operations.
"More than half of the Division's total revenue is also reportedly generated from the Mangaluru area," he said.
"The proposed transfer would therefore not merely alter the administrative jurisdiction of the Division; it would strip it of a substantial part of its revenue base and could fundamentally undermine its financial viability and the very rationale for its continued existence as a full-fledged Division," Brittas said.
He said the transfer was "particularly significant at a time when the demand for a separate railway zone for Keralam has been gaining renewed strength".
"Instead of strengthening the railway infrastructure and institutional presence of Keralam, the present decision would further diminish it, making the transfer a particularly serious setback for the State," he said.
He said the consequences would extend beyond revenue and that the transfer "could leave Palakkad Division without an adequate pitline facility, making it difficult to introduce new trains and operate special services during peak travel seasons."
The CPI(M) MP said the decision could also leave Kerala increasingly dependent on neighbouring railway divisions for capacity augmentation, expansion of services and introduction of new passenger trains.
He also referred to the sanctioned field location survey for preparation of the DPR for the 307-kilometre Mangaluru-Kasaragod-Shoranur third line.
"At precisely the time when the Railways are contemplating an integrated capacity augmentation corridor linking Mangaluru with North Keralam, the administrative jurisdiction over the corridor is being altered," he said.
He urged Vaishnaw to "immediately intervene in the matter" and direct the authorities concerned to reconsider and withdraw the decision to transfer the Mangaluru area from Palakkad division.
The MP also sought the minister's "personal intervention to ensure that the legitimate developmental interests of Malabar region and the long-term viability of Palakkad Division are adequately protected".
( Source : PTI )
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