The Hindu : Kerala News : Move to bifurcate railway divisions in State

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Saturday, Sep 18, 2004

Kerala

Kerala

Move to bifurcate railway divisions in State

By S. Anil Radhakrishnan

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM, SEPT. 17. Even as the State is clamouring for an exclusive railway zone, moves are on to bifurcate the Thiruvananthapuram and Palakkad railway divisions for setting up a new division in Salem.

The railway sections falling in Tamil Nadu and now under the jurisdiction of the Palakkad and Thiruvananthapuram railway divisions will be carved out from the two divisions for creating the Salem division — the sixth of the Southern Railway and fourth in Tamil Nadu as per the proposal, a top railway official told The Hindu. A proposal is also under consideration to carve out some sections from the Palakkad division to create a new division based in Mangalore and attach it to the Hubli-based South-Western Railway.

"The proposal is being pushed through reportedly with the backing of a Tamil Nadu-based lobby to sabotage the claim of the State for an exclusive railway zone," he said.

According to the official, "the proposal is under the active consideration although no official communication had been received at the divisional level. It remains to be seen how the Minister for Railways, Lalu Prasad, and the Railway Board react. "

Limiting factor

The proposal, if implemented, will convert the Thiruvananthapuram division into one of the smallest divisions, limiting it from Parasala to Ernakulam and the remaining stretch towards north falling under Palakkad. "The railway development will be affected in a big way as the State's claim for an exclusive railway zone will not materialise," sources said.

The bifurcation will also worsen the situation in terms of the need for manpower, rakes and coaches and other infrastructure facilities. Southern Railway with headquarters in Chennai has five divisions — Chennai, Tiruchirappalli, Madurai, Palakkad and Thiruvananthapuram.

The Thiruvananthapuram railway division, youngest in the Southern Railway, was formed on October 2, 1979, by the carving out of the Shoranur-Kochi Harbour section from the erstwhile Olavakkod division and the Ernakulam-Thiruvananthapuram section from the Madurai division.

Incidentally, the division is celebrating the silver jubilee year of its formation this year. Basically a passenger-oriented division, 60 million passengers and 8 million tonnes of freight traffic were handled by the division in 2003-04.

The former Chairman of the Railway Board, M. N. Prasad, said: "Creating a new railway division on the basis of the increasing workload in another division can be justified, but bifurcating the railway divisions in the State for political reasons is questionable."

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