Mangaluru: The Railway Board’s decision to bring the Mangaluru railway region under the South Western Railway (SWR) has triggered a fresh Kerala-Karnataka dispute, with Kerala leaders opposing the move and railway users in coastal Karnataka welcoming it as a long-pending correction.According to the Railway Board order, the Mangaluru region, currently under the Palakkad division of the Southern Railway (SR), will be transferred to the Mysuru division of the SWR from Oct 1.The decision has drawn strong opposition from Kerala. Kerala CM VD Satheesan, in a post on X, termed it a unilateral decision, and said it was unacceptable as it could affect the revenue and development prospects of the Palakkad division and Kerala. He said the matter would be taken up with Prime Minister Narendra Modi and railway minister Ashwini Vaishnaw.CPM Kerala MP John Brittas, in a letter to Vaishnaw, said the Palakkad division had already lost around 550 route kilometres when the Salem division was carved out in 2007. He argued that the transfer of the Mangaluru region would further weaken the division and reduce its annual revenue.Railway users in coastal Karnataka, however, have rejected Kerala’s argument, stating that Mangaluru has contributed substantially to the Palakkad division without receiving a proportionate share of development.Hanumanth Kamath, president, Paschima Karavali Railway Yathri Abivriddhi Samithi, said Kerala’s concern over revenue was understandable, but alleged that Mangaluru had “suffered injustice for years”. The freight traffic generated by major companies and the New Mangalore Port is a significant contributor to the division’s revenue, he said.A Bengaluru-based railway activist said the proposal to bring Mangaluru under the Mysuru division dated back to the formation of the SWR in 2003. However, the plan remained pending after gauge conversion works, he said.The activist also alleged that Mangaluru had been used as a base for trains serving Kerala and Tamil Nadu for cleaning, watering and maintenance, while demands for Karnataka-bound services and additional trains had not received adequate priority.GK Bhat, a member of the samithi, alleged that railway contracts and commercial stalls had not provided adequate opportunities to locals. He also said railway revenue belonged to the Union government and not to the Kerala government.Yogendra, railway convener of the Mysuru Grahakara Parishat, said the transfer followed long-standing complaints from railway users. He also argued that the Palakkad division had become heavily dependent on Mangaluru after the Salem division was created, as it no longer had a major terminal comparable to Mangaluru.Several users on X also reacted to Satheesan’s post, with some criticising Kerala’s position and others supporting it.Former minister Pramod Madhwaraj said the Karnataka government and all Karnataka MPs, cutting across party lines, should support the decision to free Mangaluru from the Palakkad division.Bengaluru Central MP PC Mohan also backed the move, describing it as a “rational administrative decision”. He said Mangaluru was located in Karnataka and its railway administration should serve the interests of the state.
