Kerala's loss is Karnataka's gain; Rs 1100 crore reduction in annual income, Panambur loss costly

PALAKKAD: Karnataka will gain big when the Palakkad division of the railway merges with Mysore. Panambur, Ullal, Mangalore Junction and Mangalore Central stations will be transferred from the Palakkad division on October 1. With this, there will be an increase of Rs 500-600 crore in the annual income of Mysore Railway Division. The loss of Panambur, which handles the most freight, will cause a reduction of Rs 1100 crore in the annual income of Palakkad Division. The transfer of Mangalore Central and Mangalore Junction stations will affect ticket income more.

Since the division is being changed along with the zone change, the seniority, promotion and grade of the employees will be adversely affected. The transfer limit will also be an issue. Employees, currently capable of getting transferred anywhere within Kerala, will have to continue in some areas of Karnataka after the zone change. The chances of getting new trains for Palakkad division will decrease. New trains are allocated based on revenue. As revenue decreases, the budget allocation will also decrease. Budget allocation is based on kilometres, tracks, major stations, and revenue.

90 per cent of the Palakkad division's revenue comes from freight. Last year, the Palakkad division handled 733 lakh tonnes of freight. More than 90 per cent of this is from the Mangaluru, Panambur and Ullal regions. Panambur handles goods including coal, fertiliser and petroleum from the Mangaluru port.

In the first four months of the current financial year, Palakkad's revenue from fares had crossed Rs 400 crore. From now on, a portion of this will go to the Mangaluru, Panambur and Ullal regions. With this, more than 50 per cent of Palakkad's total revenue will decrease. With the decrease in route kilometres and revenue, the funds to be received will decrease. All this may lead to the closure of the division, says the Divisional Railway Users Consultative Committee.