Draft:Kanhangad - Kaniyur railway line

Kanhangad - Kaniyuru railway line is a proposed railway line that connects Kanhangad in Kasaragod district of Kerala to Kaniyuru (Kaniur) in Dakshina Kannada district of Karnataka. Out of the 91 km proposed railway line, 41 km is in Kerala ( Kanhangad toPanathur ) and remaining 50 km passes through Karnataka (Panathur- Kaniyuru). This line will connect Kanhangad railway station in Shornur - Mangalore section of Southern Railway with Yedamangala(Edamangala) station in Mangalore - Hassan - Mysore section of South Western Railway. The initial survey for the railway line has already been carried out and is found to be feasible.The proposed railway line is long pending for the final approval from the railway authorities and Karnataka state government.

The proposed railway line also acts as a bypass line to Mangaluru - Yedamangala section of Mangaluru - Hassan railway line.

History and timeline of project

Rajmohan Unnithan current Member of Parliament from Kasaragod constituency, former MP P Karunakaran
 * The survey of the first phase ( Kanhangad - Panathur ) was completed in 2009.
 * The project have an estimate cost of 1500 crores for which Kerala and Karnataka has to bear 325 crores each and 750 crores has to bear by the central government.

Benefits to North Kerala

Benefits to South Karnataka

The closest railway station to Sullia town is Subrahmanya Road Railway Station which is around 48 km via the fastest road. The proposed railway will have railway station at or nearby Sullia town. This facilitates people from Sullia, Aletty to travel easily to Hassan, Mysuru, Bengaluru, Mangaluru(Mangalore), Kasaragod via train. The proposed railway line provides improved rail connectivity to Kukke Subramanya temple, Ninthikallu areas. There will better connectivity for the tourists to enjoy greenery, trekking spots, waterfalls of the Western Ghats.

Environmental concern

Environmental concern is one of the main stumbling block for the construction of Kanhangad- Panathur-Kaniyur line.

Disagreement from Karnataka Officials

In 2022, then Karnataka Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai had rejected the proposal of the railway line during his meeting with Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan stating that the project is not much beneficial to Karnataka and ecological concerns.

New Discussions/ Developments