Coimbatore: The Railway Ministry has issued orders specifying the jurisdiction of the railway division to be established at Salem, bringing to an end to the row over whether areas in Tamil Nadu, including Coimbatore, should form part of the Salem division, or rest with the Palakkad division.

Union Minister of State for Railways R. Velu told The Hindu on phone that the Salem division would have 842-km railway line of which 700-odd km, running through Tamil Nadu, would be bifurcated from the Palakkad division, while 135 km would come from the Tiruchirapalli division.

The proposal comes with a supplementary grant of Rs. 10 lakh for commencing the preliminary works. The allocation would be Rs 20 crore.

Earlier jurisdiction

The two railway divisions in Kerala at Thiruvananthapuram and Palakkad earlier had jurisdiction stretching from Kanyakumari to Mangalore in Karnataka and up to Jolarpet near Chennai.

Tamil Nadu, larger in terms of geographical area, had divisions at Chennai, Madurai and Tiruchirapalli. The Salem division is coming up to serve a larger area hitherto attached to the Palakkad division.

Citing neglect of railway infrastructure development works in Tamil Nadu areas, there had been a persistent demand for a new division at Salem or Coimbatore.

After the announcement of the Salem division, the issue of jurisdiction remained a hot debate. There were vociferous demands from Tamil Nadu and Kerala, staking claim over areas such as Coimbatore and Erode with high revenue earning potential.

The break-up of lines in the Salem division: Udhagamandalam - Coimbatore North Junction (79 km); Coimbatore North - Erode - Salem - Jolarpet (277 km); Irugur - Podanur - Coimbatore Junction (19 km); Salem - Karur (work in progress, 85 km); Karur - Dindigul (74 km); Salem - Vridhachalam (135 km); Salem - Mettur Dam (37 km); and Erode - Tiruchirapalli (137 km).

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