Kerala or more precisely the Railway Unions and Associations of Kerala, do not want to end up with one railway division, which was why they were opposing the formation of Salem division tooth and nail two decades ago.
Multiple divisions translate into more job opportunities and division-wise resource allocation for the ancillary sectors that generate plenty of indirect opportunities for the locals.
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In the past, Kerala's priority had been getting an independent zone outside of SR, and they were pushing for it when SWR, NWR, ECoR etc. was formed. For that end they wanted to hold on to vast sections in Tamil Nadu that would go to Salem division or the (proposed) Tirunelveli division.
It is a different story how PGT and TVC divisions were the earliest beneficiaries of railway development in the undivided SR days (on par with MAS and SBC), and later some in Kerala would be calling out SR on not giving importance to their state and would be opposed to giving up Nagercoil or Pollachi as a tit-for-tat.
Kerala has failed to add new railway lines and their people are not enthusiastic regarding alternatives like the Silverline project. Its existing lines have reached saturation and further development would be a challenge for any entity (SR or otherwise).
On the other hand, you cannot go on ignoring the cases of persistent grievances faced by Mangalore, Nagercoil and Pollachi (nobody talked of it as long as it was under MDU division and its demand has been the mere restoration of the MG era services).
As there is no chance of Kerala zone materializing, or even if it could be sanctioned as an SPV like KR or Kashmir railway, the best thing would be to redraw the divisional boundaries to best serve the needs of the public than satisfying bureaucratic arrangements.
please wait...Translate to EnglishKerala and its Railway Crew don't want just one railway area. They fought hard to stop Salem division from happening two decades back! Having more divisions means more jobs and resources for different areas, which leads to extra opportunities for the peeps. They've been trying to break free from SR and wanted their own zone. They made some noise about it during SWR, NWR, ECoR formation. They wanted to keep parts in Tamil Nadu under their control. PGT and TVC divisions were like OGs back in the SR days - now peeps in Kerala are mad that SR ain't paying them enough attention. They don't want to give up Nagercoil or Pollachi. Kerala hasn't added new train lines and folks aren't vibing with projects like Silverline. The current lines are maxed out, and progress would be tough. But people in Mangalore, Nagercoil, and Pollachi got their own beef too - nobody cared until it was under MDU division. They just want back what they had back in the MG era. Even if there's no chance for a Kerala zone, they could reshuffle divisions to better serve people instead of just bureaucracy.