Thiruvananthapuram: Rajya Sabha MP John Brittas of the CPM has written to Union Railways Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw, requesting an urgent meeting with all Members of Parliament from Kerala to discuss the impending bifurcation of the Palakkad Railway Division, a move he warned carries “far-reaching implications” for the state's transport infrastructure and economic growth.

In his letter, Brittas stressed that the accumulated structural changes affecting the division require immediate central intervention. “The developments concerning the Division, taken together, have far-reaching implications for the State's railway infrastructure, connectivity and future growth, and therefore merit your good self's urgent personal attention,” Brittas wrote.

At the center of the dispute is the Railway Board's decision to reassign the Mangaluru region and its surrounding stations from the Palakkad Division (under Southern Railway) to the Mysuru Division (under South Western Railway), effective October 1.

Brittas highlighted how the geographical footprint of the Palakkad Division has steadily shrunk over the decades. Having originally spanned approximately 1,247.58 route kilometres upon its creation in 1956, the division was curtailed to around 582.7 route kilometres following the creation of the Salem Division in 2007.

Brittas warned that excision of the Mangaluru cluster would strip away the section generating over 90 per cent of Palakkad's freight income and more than half of its aggregate earnings, resulting in a “potential annual revenue loss estimated at around Rs. 1,000 crore”.

The Rajya Sabha MP also drew attention to the stalled Kanjikode Rail Coach Factory, whose foundation stone was laid in 2012 as partial restitution for the 2007 territorial reduction.

“The successive reduction of the Palakkad Division, together with the withdrawal of the Coach Factory project, raises legitimate questions about the future of railway infrastructure and institutional presence in Keralam,” he noted, reiterating the state's long-standing demand for a dedicated Kerala Railway Zone to ensure “a stronger, more equitable and enduring railway framework for Keralam”.

The impending reassignment has provoked broad political consensus across Keralam. On August 26, MPs from the Congress-led United Democratic Front (UDF) held a sit-in demonstration in Palakkad, condemning the decision as politically motivated.

Congress MP Shashi Tharoor criticised the Ministry for executing the restructuring without local oversight. He said, "This is a particularly unfortunate decision because it was made without any consultation with the Kerala government or Kerala MPs,”

Keralam Electricity Minister and KPCC president Sunny Joseph has similarly appealed directly to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, calling the detachment of the main freight corridor “an unjustifiable decision”.

ANI