Pinarayi makes plea to PM Modi for new railway zone for Kerala

Kerala has made a strong pitch for setting up a new railway zone headquartered at Ernakulam and sought Prime Minister Narendra Modi's intervention in the matter. 

The plea in this regard was made by Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan in letters to Modi and Railway Minister Suresh Prabhu on Tuesday. Pinarayi suggested that Palakkad and Thiruvananthapuram divisions be amalgamated to form a single zone, which can be headquartered at Ernakulam. 

The Kerala CM also said plans to hive off the Thiruvananthapuram-Tirunelveli and Nagercoil-Kanyakumari lines from the Thiruvananthapuram division and be made part of Madurai division should be prevented. 

Pinarayi pointed out that one of the main reasons for non-completion of Palakkad coach factory, high speed rail corridor and various railway lines - such as Thalassery-Mysore, Angamaly-Sabarimala and Guruvayoor-Tirunavaya - was that Kerala does not have a railway zone and the office was in Chennai. Hence, to find a solution, from Kanyakumari to Mangaluru peninsular railway zone, it is necessary to give sanction to the railway zone. 

To decrease the rush at the Thiruvananthapuram railway station, which comes under corporation limits, satellite facilties are being provided. At this juncture, if the Thiruvananthapuram-Tirunelveli and Nagercoil-Kanyakumari lines are shifted from the division, it would impact development activities in the state, the Chief Minister stressed.

• railway zone
• Pinarayi Vijayan
• Narendra Modi