Palakkad division survives on freight revenue from Panambur

Revenue earned by the Palakkad Railway Division during this financial year (2012 -13) once again indicates that the division is surviving on freight charges through MRPL and NMPT coming under Panambur area. The division, which was divested of many areas for the formation of Salem division, now survives on revenue from the freight transportation and more than 90 per cent comes from Panambur only.

Record freight revenue

In the just ended financial year, Palakkad has achieved a record revenue from freight loading amounting to 7.068 million tonnes (MT).  In the previous year, the same was 5.344 million tonnes, an increase by 32.16 per cent.

Sources in the railways said that transportation of coal more than doubled from 2.627 MT to 5.414 MT during the same period.

Panambur contributes 91.2 per cent

The loading from Panambur area alone was 6.495 MT, which contributed for 91.2 per cent of overall loading of the division. The total earnings of the division touched Rs 878.46 crore from Rs 665.52 crore previous year, marking an increase of 32 per cent.
According to sources, the long-pending demand for having South Western Zone headquarters in Mangalore may not materialise in the near future. Without Mangalore, Palakkad will cease operation as a division according to railway rules.

Already bifurcation of Palakkad to please politicians has drawn enough flak and the Railways will not risk one more splitting of the division. Also, railway officials are pitching for more prominence for Palakkad in the railway map through the Kanchikode railway factory. Once the wagon manufacturing factory starts functioning, authorities hope it will pave way for a separate railway zone for Kerala.