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Elected representatives from coastal Karnataka have urged the Railway ministry to merge Konkan Railway Corporation Ltd (KRCL) with Indian Railways.
Participating in a meeting convened by the Union Minister of State for Railways, V Somanna, on Wednesday to discuss issues related to the Railways in Mangaluru, Capt Brijesh Chowta, Member of Parliament (MP) from Dakshina Kannada, said there is a need for focussed attention on the development of railway infrastructure in Dakshina Kannada. At present, the district is distributed among Southern Railway, South Western Railway, and KRCL. This creates several operational issues in the region, especially in Mangaluru.
He said the cost of tickets is higher in KRCL than in other railway divisions and suggested merging KRCL with Indian Railways.
Kota Srinivasa Pujari, Udupi-Chikmagaluru MP, also echoed Capt Chowta’s views and sought the merger of KRCL with Indian Railways.
Manjunatha Bhandari, a Member of the Legislative Council of Karnataka, said Mangaluru serves as the connecting link between the Palakkad division of Southern Railways, the Mysuru division of South Western Railways, and Konkan Railway sections.
Stressing the need for the merger of KRCL with Indian Railways, Bhandary said KRCL has no funds to double the track. “It lacks funds for constructing additional bogies and purchasing new LHB train coaches with German technology,” he said, adding that the train fares on KRCL are higher when compared to other railway divisions.
Stating that the Mangaluru region provides the highest freight revenue to the Palakkad division of the Southern Railway zone, Ananthesh V Prabhu, President of the Kanara Chamber of Commerce and Industry, said the region sums up to 90 per cent of the total revenue that the Palakkad division generates. “Be it better infrastructure, maintenance, new rail service and many more, the Mangaluru station has always been depending at the mercy of Palakkad division and grossly neglected,” he said, urging the Ministry to shift the railway division from Palakkad to Mangaluru.
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