Keralam Chief Minister V.D. Satheesan’s statement that bringing the Mangaluru Railway Region under South Western Railway’s Mysuru Division from Southern Railway’s Palakkad Division would affect railway development in Keralam only corroborates the oft-repeated grievance of coastal Karnataka that railway revenues from Mangaluru were being used to develop railway infrastructure in the neighbouring State, claimed Pashchima Karavali Railway Yatri Abhivriddhi Samithi and other railway patrons.

The demand for jurisdictional realignment has been voiced in coastal Karnataka ever since the formation of SWR in 2003. Though a decision to this effect was taken in 2006, it was never notified. The gazette notification was finally issued late on Friday.

Keralam’s objection

Mr. Satheesan has called the Railways’ “unilateral decision” unacceptable and said the government would take up the issue with Prime Minister Narendra Modi. His predecessor, Pinarayi Vijayan, has also objected to the move.

Responding to these developments, Samithi president G. Hanumanth Kamath told The Hindu that the Samithi and railway patrons had long underlined the “lopsided railway infrastructure development” in the Mangaluru region by Southern Railway. More than half of the Palakkad Division’s revenue, about ₹800 crore a year, came from the Mangaluru region, particularly from New Mangalore Port. Yet, Southern Railway had neither introduced trains connecting different parts of Karnataka nor developed infrastructure in the region, he said.

Many railway patrons from the coastal region took to social media on Saturday to highlight what they described as “lopsided development” that did not favour coastal Karnataka when the Mangaluru railway region was under the Palakkad Division.

Railway patron P. Ramesh Rao said the only train sanctioned between Bengaluru and Mangaluru, the first introduced after gauge conversion, was extended to Kannur instead of Karwar.

Historic decision

Minister of State for Railways V. Somanna said the Union government had taken a “historic” decision to fulfil the long-standing demand of the people and rail passengers of coastal Karnataka. He said Mangaluru was one of the first cities he visited in July 2024 to hold a high-level meeting with Railway officials.

Dakshina Kannada Member of Parliament Captain Brijesh Chowta, who pursued the issue with the Centre, said he, along with other coastal MPs, would press for the merger of Konkan Railway Corporation Ltd. with the Indian Railways and the doubling of its network. He said improving the railway line on the ghat stretch and doubling the Mangaluru-Bengaluru line would also be among his priorities.

The road ahead

Talking about the road ahead, G. Hanumanth Kamath said the inclusion should facilitate the introduction of more trains connecting Mangaluru with different parts of Karnataka. For instance, priority should be given to extending the Mumbai CSMT-Mangaluru Junction-Mumbai CSMT Express and the Yeshwantpur-Mangaluru Junction-Yeshwantpur Gomateshwara Express to Mangaluru Central, as originally sanctioned, he argued. He said the Palakkad Division had been denying their extension. He said the Palakkad Division had been denying their extension.

The next step should be the reintroduction of the Mangaluru Central-Miraj Mahalakshmi Express, which was cancelled due to gauge conversion in 2003, and the Mangaluru Central-Shri Mata Vaishnodevi Katra Navyug Express. This should be followed by enhanced connectivity to other regions, Mr. Kamath said.

Former member of SWR’s Zonal Railway Users’ Consultative Committee from Bengaluru, Paraksh Mandoth said the decades-long fight for justice had finally been fulfilled. He recalled relentlessly pursuing the issue with then Railway Minister Nitish Kumar and his successors. Meanwhile, Mudit Mittal, Divisional Railway Manager, Mysuru, told The Hindu: “After the Onam celebrations, our team will visit Palakkad, or a team from Palakkad may visit Mysuru, to discuss the modalities of the takeover.”

Published - August 22, 2026 07:59 pm IST