The Railway Ministry has decided to bring the entire Mangaluru railway area under the South Western Railway (SWR) zone, with Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw saying the move is aimed at addressing operational difficulties arising from the area’s existing division among multiple railway zones.
The Mangaluru railway area was earlier split between Southern Railway (SR), South Western Railway and Konkan Railway Corporation Limited (KRCL). Vaishnaw said this arrangement had created operational challenges and that bringing the area under one zone would help resolve them.
“The Mangaluru railway area was earlier divided into three different zones, “creating serious operational problems. The decision to keep Mangaluru in SWR will solve the operational problems,” Vaishnaw said in a social media post.
He also said he had met MPs from Kerala to discuss the transfer of Mangaluru to SWR as well as the development of the railway network in the state.
Why was Mangaluru divided across three railway zones?
According to the Railway Ministry, the division of the Mangaluru railway area resulted in multiple operational boundaries and interchange points over a relatively short but traffic-sensitive section of the railway network.
“A train arriving at Mangaluru from either the Goa side or the Hassan side had to cross three operational areas and interchange points before reaching the station, causing avoidable delays and difficulty in control and congestion in train operations,” the ministry said.
The ministry said the arrangement had created several operational areas within a compact stretch, making coordination of train movements more complicated.
“The Railways is now rationalising this arrangement purely from operational efficiency considerations by bringing the entire Mangaluru area under a single zone, South Western Railway,” it said.
How will the SWR transfer affect train operations?
The proposed restructuring involves bringing the entire Mangaluru area under the Mysore Division of South Western Railway.
According to the ministry, having a single operational boundary for the Mangaluru area will remove interchange conflicts between different railway zones and allow train movements to be managed more smoothly.
Officials described the move as an operational area rationalisation, similar to periodic boundary realignments undertaken across the railway network to reduce interchange-related issues and improve efficiency.
For passengers, the expected impact would primarily be on the management and operation of trains passing through the Mangaluru area. The move is intended to reduce delays and congestion arising from multiple operational handovers.
Kerala MPs raise concerns over the transfer
The decision has also drawn opposition from several MPs from Kerala, who have objected to the transfer of the Mangaluru area from Southern Railway to South Western Railway.
One of the concerns raised is the revenue generated by the Mangaluru area from freight operations. The section is considered significant for freight earnings, making its transfer to another railway zone an important administrative change.
The Railway Ministry, however, has maintained that the proposed restructuring is being undertaken on operational efficiency grounds, with the aim of simplifying train management and improving the functioning of the network around Mangaluru.