Railway Ministry reconstitutes new division at Salem

New Delhi, Oct 12 (UNI) The Salem Division on Southern Railway, which was reconstituted by the Railway Ministry following an amicable settlement between Kerala and Tamil Nadu, would become operational from November 1, a ministry official said today.

The Salem Division (16th of the Railways) will have a total length of 862 km, including 623 km from Palakkad, 135 km from Tiruchirappali, 19 km from Madurai and 85 route km of a new line.

The creation of Salem Division in Tamil Nadu, forked out of Kerala's Palakkad Division, had sparked a major row between the two states with Kerala complaining that Palakkad would be left with only 545 km of railway line in place of the present 843 km, after the bifurcation.

The crisis was resolved after Railway Minister Lalu Prasad announced that Palakkad Division would be redrawn by adding 79 km to its jurisdiction from Madurai Division.

In effect, Palghat Division will now have 509 km of existing line, 36 km of new line under construction and 79 km from Madurai Division.

Following the creation of Salem Division, Palakkad, Tiruchirapalli and Madurai Divisions have also been redrawn.

UNI