Bring Mangaluru Railway network under SWR: KCCI

Mangaluru: The Kanara Chamber of Commerce and Industry (KCCI) has requested Railway Minister Piyush Goyal to hand over the Mangaluru railway region to the South Western Railway (SWR).

In a letter to the Union Minister, KCCI president Issac Vas said the overall potential of coastal districts can be fully exploited only if the region is administered by a single zone.

He said Mangaluru is now fortunate to have train connectivity to Bengaluru, Kerala and Mumbai.

However, being under the control of three railway zones (Southern Railway, SWR and Konkan Railway Corporation), train operations are getting complicated due to lack of coordination among the zones.

Many development proposals including introduction of new trains and modification of existing services did not materialise due to the lack of coordination, Vas said in the letter.

He said the Railway Ministry had in 2004 decided to hand over the Mangaluru railway network to Mysuru division of SWR after the completion of the gauge conversion between Mangaluru and Hassan.

The Ministry has not implemented the decision even 14 years after the gauge conversion.

Vas said freight movement between New Mangalore Port Trust and other parts of Karnataka will improve if Mangaluru comes under SWR.

With the proposed expansion of MRPL, bringing Mangaluru-Thokur line under SWR will also enhance the operations in the region, he said in the letter.