History
The South Western Railway zone came into existence on 3 April 2003 by bifurcating Mysore and Bengaluru divisions from Southern Railway along with Hubli division from South Central Railway. It is headquartered at Hubli and comprises three divisions namely Hubli, Mysore, and Bengaluru. The fourth division at Kalaburagi was slated to be the fourth division which was supposed to be carved out from Hubli, Secunderabad, Guntkal and Solapur divisions. Currently the divisional office at Kalaburagi is on hold due to operational constraints.
With effect from 1 October 2026, the Railway lines of Mangalore area was merged with the Mysore railway division of South Western Railway (SWR) to facilitate more efficient administrative management.
Administrative reorganisation
Mangaluru Area
With effect from 1 October 2026, the Railway lines of Mangaluru area was merged with the Mysore railway division of South Western Railway (SWR) to facilitate more efficient administrative management. The Government of India issued the related Gazette notification on 21 August 2026,outlining the changes to the railway administrative jurisdiction.
Railway Board NOTIFICATION
New Delhi, 21 August 2026
No. 2025/E&R/1(3)/1.
1. It is hereby notified for general information that keeping in view the
operational requirements, Central Government has decided to revise the jurisdictional boundaries of Mysore division of
South Western Railway, Konkan Railway and Palakkad division of Southern Railway.
2. The divisional/zonal boundary between Mysore division of South Western Railway and Palakkad division of
Southern Railway is now fixed at Km 872.900 on Shoranur Jn.- Mangaluru Central section.
3. The existing divisional/zonal boundary between Konkan Railway and Southern Railway will become the
divisional/zonal boundary between Konkan Railway and South Western Railway.
4. The interchange point between Mysore division of South Western Railway and Palakkad division of Southern
Railway will accordingly shift from Padil to Ullal.
5. The existing interchange point between Palakkad division of Southern Railway and Konkan Railway at Thokur
will now be the interchange point between Konkan Railway and Mysore division of South Western Railway.
6. These changes in the above jurisdiction will come into effect from 1 Oct.’ 2026.
Modernization
The Mysore Division of South Western Railways will be designated as "Digital Division" after fully adopting its current technology harnessing programme. The government of India had asked Railways divisions to cut red tape and reduce paperwork in offices. All the officials will adopt technologies like WhatsApp and Google Drive to share reports and other documents. This will save a lot of papers being used for circulating reports as done currently. Two web-based helplines have been launched so that digitised information can be shared among different officials. The inspection reports regarding maintenance, passenger amenities, cleanliness, electronics, and communication, etc. will be managed by a new software which is under construction now. These measures will cut down redundant works, reduce number of registers and reports maintained by officials, reduce paper consumption and improve the efficiency and celerity of operations.
In 2025 SWR has enhanced speed on 835 kilometres of track, which saves up to an hour in travelling time for both people and goods. This has resulted in better logistics, more punctuality, and economic growth.
