MP K Radhakrishnan Demands Withdrawal of Order to Detach Mangaluru Region from Palakkad Railway Division

New Delhi: CPI(M) MP K Radhakrishnan has demanded that the Railway Board immediately withdraw its notification to detach the Mangaluru region — the lifeline of the Palakkad Division — and transfer it to the Mysuru Division of South Western Railway. He has written to Union Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw pressing the demand.

The MP has strongly protested against the decision, calling it one that would completely undermine railway development and passenger services in Keralam. The loss of Mangaluru Port, Mangaluru Central and Mangaluru Junction — the Palakkad Division's primary revenue-generating stations — would push the division into severe financial crisis, he said, and eventually threaten the very existence of the Palakkad Division on grounds of non-viability.

Since the Keralam train network operates with Mangaluru as a hub, the move would entirely foreclose possibilities of launching new services to Malabar or extending existing ones. Development priorities in the region would shift to Karnataka, and doubling of the line up to the Keralam border would be slowed. The decision would also adversely affect the long-standing and legitimate demand for a separate railway zone for Keralam linking Thiruvananthapuram and Palakkad, as well as the job security and seniority rights of railway employees.

Radhakrishnan demanded that the central government immediately withdraw the order — set to take effect from October 1, 2026 — and ensure the Palakkad Division is kept fully intact.