Joining hands with the public who want Mangaluru Railway region to come under South Western Railway (SWR), the Kanara Chamber of Commerce and Industry (KCCI) has said the overall potential of coastal districts can be exploited fully only if the region was administered by a single zone.

In a letter to Railway Minister Piyush Goyal on Tuesday, chamber president Issac Vas said Mangaluru was fortunate to have train connectivity to Bengaluru, Kerala, and Mumbai. However, being under the control of three Railway zones, SWR, Southern Railway, and Konkan Railway Corporation, train operations were complicated in the region for want of coordination between them.

KCCI has observed many development proposals did not materialize because of the same reason and so was the introduction of new trains or modification of existing services. Thus, the overall potential of the district as well as the region remains underutilized and suffers due to indecision and delays, Mr. Vas noted.

The KCCI president noted that the Ministry itself in 2004 decided to hand over the Mangaluru railway network to the Mysuru Division of SWR after gauge conversion completion 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.

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