Udupi-Chikkamagaluru Member of Parliament Kota Srinivas Poojary urged Karnataka’s Chief Minister D. K. Shivakumar to hasten the process of relinquishing Karnataka government’s stake in Konkan Railway Corporation Limited (KRCL) to facilitate its merger with the Indian Railways.
On July 14, he met Mr. Shivakumar in Bengaluru along with Kundapura MLA A. Kiran Kumar Kodgi.
Mr. Poojary said the merger is essential in view of the overall development of the railway network in coastal Karnataka.
The MP noted that KRCL has been operating a single-line network for the past 30 years without undertaking any development. Neither is the Corporation able to undertake line doubling, nor is it able to create additional infrastructure, including station buildings, coach watering facilities, and such other amenities in coastal Karnataka.
When KRCL was formed by the then Railway Minister George Fernandes as a special purpose vehicle to construct the railway line, beneficiary States — Maharashtra, Goa, Karnataka and Kerala — had pooled in about 50% of the capital. While the railway network has brought in remarkable development and changes in coastal Karnataka, KRCL’s failure to double the lines in tune with the Indian Railways network has been hampering further development of the region, he said. He informed the Chief Minister that the governments of Kerala and Goa have already announced a decision to relinquish their stake in KRCL.
Mr. Poojary told Mr. Shivakumar that the other MPs of the region — Captain Brijesh Chowta, B. Y. Raghavendra and Vishweshwar Hegde Kageri — too are in favour of the merger.
Mr. Poojary said the Chief Minister assured all co-operation towards the MPs’ efforts to augmenting the railway network in coastal Karnataka.
Published - July 15, 2026 01:11 pm IST