The South Western Railway (abbreviated SWR) is one of the 19 railway zones of Indian Railways, headquartered at Hubballi in the Indian state of Karnataka. SWR was created from carving out the routes from Southern Railways, South Central Railways and Central Railways in 2003.
History The South Western Railway zone came into existence on 3 April 2003 by bifurcating Mysuru and Bengaluru divisions from Southern Railway along with Hubballi division from South Central Railway. It is headquartered at Hubballi and comprises three divisions namely Hubballi, Mysuru, and Bengaluru. The fourth division at Kalaburagi was slated to be the fourth division which was supposed to be carved out from Hubballi, Secunderabad, Guntkal and Solapur divisions. Currently the divisional office at Kalaburagi is on hold due to operational constraints.
With effect from 1st October 2026, the Railway lines of Mangaluru area was merged with the Mysuru railway division of South Western Railway (SWR) to facilitate more efficient administrative management.
Zonal Headquarters
The headquarters of South Western Railway (SWR) is located at Rail Soudha, Gadag Road, Hubballi, Karnataka – 580020, India. The zone has been headquartered at Hubballi since its formation on 1 April 2003.
Divisions
South Western Railway (SWR) is administratively divided into three railway divisions
Bengaluru railway division Mysuru railway division Hubballi railway division Kalaburagi railway division (Proposed)
+ Division wise Track details+ As on 01.April.2026 Sl. No. Division Route Kms % of Route Kms Running track Kms % of Running track Kms 1 Bengaluru 1144.98 30.76% 1707.31 30.99% 2 Mysuru 1141.78 30.67% 1468.33 26.65% 3 Hubballi 1434.91 38.55% 2333.12 42.35% Grand Total 3721.63 100% 5508.78 100%
Administrative reorganization
Mangaluru Area
With effect from 1st October 2026, the Railway lines of Mangaluru area was merged with the Mysuru 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, the 21st 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 Mysuru division of South Western Railway, Konkan Railway and Palakkad division of Southern Railway.
2. The divisional/zonal boundary between Mysuru 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 Mysuru 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 Mysuru division of South Western Railway.
6. These changes in the above jurisdiction will come into effect from 1st Oct.’ 2026.
Jurisdiction
South Western Railway covers most of the railway lines in the state of Karnataka and Goa except the Konkan Railway line, parts of Sri Sathya Sai district and Chittoor district in Andhra Pradesh, Krishnagiri district, parts of Dharmapuri district and Tirupathur district of Tamil Nadu and parts of Sangli district and Solapur district of Maharashtra. SWR also operates and maintains Mangalore–Hassan–Mysore line railway track.
Modernization The Mysuru 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 kilometers of track, which saves up to an hour in traveling time for both people and goods. This has resulted in better logistics, more punctuality, and economic growth.
Loco sheds Diesel & Electric Loco Shed, Krishnarajapuram(KJM) Diesel Loco Shed, Hubballi(UBL) MEMU Shed, Banaswadi(BAND) DEMU Shed, Bengaluru Contonment (BNC) MEMU & DEMU Shed, Hubballi(UBL)
Pitlines and Coaching facilities
South Western Railway has 26 active pit lines across its three divisions, with 2 additional pit lines under construction and 1 pit line sanctioned, supporting the examination, servicing, and maintenance of train rakes.
+ Pit lines of South Western Railway Division Location Number of Pit lines Bengaluru KSR Bengaluru 5 Yesvantpur 4 Baiyyappanahalli / SMVT Bengaluru 3 Mysuru Mysuru 4 Mangaluru Central 3 Arsikere 1 Shivamogga / Kotegangur 2 (Under Construction) Hubballi Hubballi 4 Vasco da Gama 1 Belagavi 1 Vijayapura 1 (Sanctioned) Total 29
State wise Route and Running track Kms
+ SWR Route and Running Track kilometres by State+ As on 01.April.2026 Sl. No. State Route Kms % of Route Kms Running Track Kms % of Running Track Kms 1 Karnataka 3,142.88 84.44% 4,720.69 85.69% 2 Andhra Pradesh 298.41 8.01% 419.02 7.61% 3 Tamil Nadu 173.67 4.66% 198.64 3.61% 4 Goa 69.31 1.86% 95.57 1.73% 5 Maharashtra 37.42 1.00% 74.84 1.36% Grand Total 3,721.63 100.00% 5,508.78 100.00%
Revenue
+Financial Year (FY) wise Earings (₹ crore) Service Head 2022–23 2023–24 2024–25 2025–26 Passenger 2116.14 2388.39 2436.54 2670.41 Other Coaching 270.25 325.31 349.39 359.47 Goods 4202.20 4553.09 4377.80 4843.94 Sundries 364.43 404.36 301.27 351.46 TOTAL 6953.02 7671.16 7465.10 8225.28
See also Zones and divisions of Indian Railways All India Station Masters' Association (AISMA) Konkan Railway Corporation
References
External links South Western Railway System Map South Western Railway Indian Railways reservations