The future of the Palakkad Railway Division has once again become a hot topic in Kerala, this time through an open political challenge. The BJP Kerala unit, in a Facebook post by leader C. Krishnakumar, has invited Palakkad MP V.K. Sreekandan for a public, data-based debate on railway development in the region. The post drew a large response from the public, and the comments turned into a long list of real demands from ordinary rail passengers of Palakkad and the wider Malabar belt.
BJP’s open challenge to the Palakkad MP
In the post, the BJP said the attempt by V.K. Sreekandan to twist BJP state president Rajeev Chandrasekhar’s statement on the Palakkad division into a political controversy was “condemnable”. The party argued that if the Congress truly cared about railway development in Kerala, it should first examine its own record.
The BJP pointed to 2007, when the boundary of the Palakkad Railway Division was reportedly cut during the UPA government’s time, and asked what the Congress did then to protect Kerala’s interests. It challenged the MP to sit on an open stage and compare, with figures, railway development during the ten UPA years (2004–2014) and the period after 2014 under the Narendra Modi government.
The party also recalled the tenure of O. Rajagopal as Union Minister of State for Railways, crediting that period for a big share of Kerala’s basic railway infrastructure, including 56 railway over-bridges that eased road traffic across the state. The Amrita Express was cited as an example of a train that changed rail connectivity from Palakkad towards Thiruvananthapuram.
The post ended with a direct line: “Sreekandan MP — come with facts and figures, not allegations. The BJP is ready for an open debate,” along with hashtags such as #palakkadrailwaydivision and #railwaydevelopmentkerala.
What people are actually demanding
Beyond the politics, the comment section became a detailed public wish-list. Whatever their political side, many commenters agreed on one point — the Palakkad division and the Malabar region need urgent railway attention. Here are the main demands that came up again and again.
1. Save and strengthen the Palakkad Division
Several people warned that Palakkad division’s route kilometres are shrinking and feared it could end up merged into a single Kerala division, or fall under Mysuru/Salem division. Commenters such as Sarin C Vennakkara explained that once trains to Mangalore side move to Mysore division, Palakkad division loses many of its trains, since Palakkad Junction trains largely belong to Thiruvananthapuram division. Nithya M put it simply: “Palakkad division save cheyanam sir. Ith Naadinte avashyam anu. Politics illa.”
2. Pitline and coach maintenance facilities
This was the single most repeated demand. Commenters pointed out that the Palakkad Town pit line is not commissioned, that Shoranur Junction can maintain only up to a 12-coach pit line, and that coach maintenance work for express and superfast trains is slowly being lost to Mangalore. The ask: complete the Palakkad pit line quickly, upgrade the Palakkad MEMU shed to 16-car, and modernise Kasaragod/Kumbala stations with coach maintenance facilities.
3. A proper terminal station
Many demanded that Palakkad Junction be developed to airport-standard with more platforms and that Palakkad Town be raised from 2 pit lines to 3. There was also a debate on where the terminal land should come from, with commenters questioning who handed over land meant for a terminal to private parties.
4. More stops for Malabar and Ottapalam
A strong grievance was that trains skip stations between Palakkad and Thrissur on the 75-km stretch. Shameel Sha noted that even high-revenue stations like Ottapalam are treated as no-stop stations for most trains, and that the Amrit Bharat redevelopment has not fixed the stoppage problem. Commenters asked for stops for the Vande Bharat, Mangaluru–Madgaon Express and other long-distance trains at Ottapalam.
5. New trains and better timings
Detailed suggestions came in, including:
- A superfast Intercity Express from Palakkad to Thiruvananthapuram via Alappuzha in the early morning slot.
- A superfast Intercity towards the Malabar side in the evening, to fill the gap between the 3 pm Kannur Express and the 9 pm West Coast Express to Mangalore.
- Extending the Ernakulam–Bangalore Intercity stop to Shoranur to connect Parasuram and Venad Express passengers heading to Bangalore.
- Extra general compartments on crowded Kerala trains.
6. Kasaragod’s long-standing neglect
Commenters from the northern end raised Kasaragod’s problems in detail — no train from Kannur after 7 pm, few facilities despite being on the coastal line, and stoppages being cut. Abdul Khayum Pookunju noted that stops removed during the Manmohan Singh era at Kanhangad (in the erstwhile constituency) are yet to be fully restored, and urged that Kasaragod be developed as a starting station with its old goods yard, parcel service and weekly-train stops brought back.
7. New line projects
Demands also included sanctioning funds for the Azhikkal–Kannur–Mysore railway line and pushing the Nilambur–Nanjangud project, which commenters said would bring back the route kilometres lost by the Palakkad division. A recurring demand across comments was a separate railway zone for Kerala.
C. Krishnakumar’s replies
In the thread, C. Krishnakumar responded to some points directly. Replying to a commenter, he argued that trains cannot be increased without first building basic infrastructure like track doubling and electrification, and that this is exactly what the Modi government has prioritised for Indian Railways. He added that debate is needed precisely because it forces those in power to answer publicly: “even those who do nothing must be made to show it in front of the people.”
Both sides blamed
Not everyone took a party line. Several commenters said successive governments — UDF and LDF alike — have neglected Kerala’s railways. Some questioned why a Karnataka-rooted BJP leadership would prioritise Kerala, while others, like Madhusudhanan Menon, argued the Palakkad division debate is a distraction and even suggested merging it with Salem or Mysuru division to run more Coimbatore–Mangalore trains. George K cautioned that Karnataka would never allow Mangalore to move into a Kerala division.
The takeaway
Whatever the politics behind the challenge, the public response makes one thing clear — the people of Palakkad and Malabar are watching their railway map closely and they want concrete action, not blame games. Pit lines, a real terminal, more stops at Ottapalam, better Kasaragod connectivity and a Kerala rail zone are the demands echoing loudest. Whether the promised open debate actually happens, and whether it delivers results on the ground, is what readers will be waiting to see.
This report is based on a public Facebook post by C. Krishnakumar and 61 public comments/replies on it. The views expressed in the comments are those of the individual commenters. PalakkadNews.com has reproduced the demands and claims for the record and does not independently verify every figure mentioned.
