Kozhikode: The detachment of the Mangaluru region from the Palakkad Railway Division will result in an annual loss of ₹650 crore in freight transport revenue alone for the division.

This loss accounts for 90.2% of the Palakkad Division's total freight transport earnings. Following the shift, the South Western Railway will fully control freight movement via goods trains from Mangaluru's Panambur Port to Kerala.

The Palakkad Division currently generates a total freight revenue of ₹722.2 crore per year. Around 22 to 25 goods trains operate daily from Mangaluru to Kerala, and their operational control will transfer to the Mysuru Division from October 1.

In December 2023 alone, the Palakkad Division earned ₹50 crore in a single month from Mangaluru Port. During that period, 204 loaded rakes, 10,670 wagons and 0.697 million (6.97 lakh) tonnes of cargo were transported to Kerala by rail. The primary freight commodities included coal, petcoke, fertilisers, petroleum products and edible oil, with similar volumes recorded in several subsequent months.

Following this decision, Palakkad will become a railway division without connectivity to any port.

The division will lose its primary loading point for goods trains alongside its pit line facilities for goods train maintenance. Mangaluru's three pit lines can handle the simultaneous maintenance of nine trains. Furthermore, the services of 50 to 60 staff members in Mangaluru with specialised expertise in goods train maintenance will also be lost to the Palakkad Division.


What is the solution? 

Forming a dedicated railway zone for Kerala by merging the Palakkad and Thiruvananthapuram divisions is being highlighted as a potential solution. Adequate space to construct a zonal office is available in Kochi. Around five acres of unutilised railway land is situated at the old goods yard near the High Court in Ernakulam. Given its proximity to Cochin Port and the Vallarpadam Container Terminal, the site holds remarkable potential for future freight movement development.