The Railways have said there is no move to hand over the busy Nemom- Nagercoil- Kanyakumari and Nagercoil- Tirunelveli corridors under the Thiruvananthapuram rail division to the Madurai division.
The response comes in the wake of protests against the Railway Board’s letter to the General Manager, Southern Railway, seeking his comments on the transfer of the two lines in exchange of the Shencottah-Kollam section from Madurai to the Thiruvananthapuram division.
“The letter is based on representations by passenger associations that we are neglecting the development of Nagercoil and Kanyakumari. There is no move to hand over the lines from the Thiruvananthapuram division,” Divisional Railway Manager Prakash Bhutani told The Hindu.
The sanctioned works for Nagercoil Junction are being delayed as they will become infructuous once the doubling works of the Thiruvananthapuram- Kanyakumari stretch are taken up. “We will be asking the construction wing to look into what can be done,” the divisional manager said.
Mr. Bhutani allayed the concerns of former Union Minister of State for Railways and BJP leader O. Rajagopal, MLA, who took up the matter with him.
However, the June 6 letter of the Director, Efficiency and Research, Railway Board, to the General Manager seeking his opinion on the transfer of lines cites the earlier letters of the board on November 2, 2015, December 1, 2015, January 7, 2016, August 23, 2016, and February 20, 2017.
Director Sudhir Chandra Kumar has asked for comments at the earliest to submit the file to the Union Minister.
The proposed rail connectivity to the Vizhinjam seaport is also from the Thiruvananthapuram-Nagercoil line.
Minister for Railways G. Sudhakaran said the move to hand over 160 km would hamper the development of the State rail network. He urged the Railways to abandon the move taken in the interests of the adjacent State.
A. Sampath and Shashi Tharoor, MPs, have written to Railway Minister Suresh Prabhu to abandon the move and create a railway zone exclusive for the state.
The DYFI, the Federation of Residents Association, Thiruvananthuparam, have also come out against the move.