Following the Railway Ministry’s decision on Friday to de-link the Mangaluru railway region from Southern Railway’s (SR) Palakkad Division and bring it under South Western Railway’s (SWR) Mysuru Division, the SWR has commenced preparations to take over the assets and operations of the region by October 1.

The Railway Ministry also issued a Gazette notification late on Friday evening, formalising the process.

“After the Onam celebrations, our team will visit Palakkad or a team from Palakkad might visit Mysuru to discuss the modalities of the takeover,” Mysuru Divisional Railway Manager Mudit Mittal told The Hindu. The discussions would revolve around assets, the transfer, or continuation of staff, and other issues. He has asked divisional officers to begin preparatory talks with their counterparts in Palakkad. “Within a month’s time, we should be able to take over the operations of the Mangaluru region,” he added.

Shifting the train interchange point with SR to Ullal from Padil should facilitate smooth operations, Mr. Mittal said, adding that complaints of delayed arrivals at Mangaluru would be addressed. There have been complaints of trains from the Mumbai and Bengaluru regions being delayed during entry from Thokur and Padil (under Konkan Railway and SWR jurisdictions, respectively) to Mangaluru Junction (SR jurisdiction). These delays would be eliminated, improving operational punctuality, the DRM said.

New services

The prospects of operating more passenger trains connecting Mangaluru with other parts of the State have improved after Mangaluru was brought under SWR, as the General Manager is competent to run trains within the zone.

However, constraints on the Sakleshpur-Subrahmaya Road Ghat section, the sole link between the coast and the hinterland, limit the number of trains that can be operated and might hinder the introduction of new trains. The only other available option is to operate new trains via the Braganza Ghat (Londa-Madgaon), where another zone (KRCL) comes into play.

Things are expected to improve with efforts by Dakshina Kannada MP Capt. Brijesh Chowta and Udupi-Chikkamagaluru MP Kota Srinivas Poojary to enhance the Sakleshpur-Subrahmanya Road ghat capacity by having the Mysuru Division construct a crossing station at Arebetta. Capt. Chowta is also pursuing a new line with a flatter gradient on the ghat section to allow more trains to run, Pashchima Karavali Railway Yatri Abhivriddhi Samithi president G. Hanumanth Kamath said.

Published - August 22, 2026 07:39 pm IST