SCoR Zone Becomes Operational from June 1; CM Hails Historic Milestone for Andhra Pradesh
Visakhapatnam, May 31 (TNT): The long-cherished dream of Andhra Pradesh for a separate railway zone will become a reality on Monday with the South Coast Railway (SCoR), headquartered in Visakhapatnam, commencing operations as the 18th railway zone of Indian Railways, a development expected to significantly boost rail infrastructure, logistics and industrial growth in the state.
The administrative framework of the new zone has been put in place under the leadership of General Manager Sandeep Mathur. As part of the key appointments, Y. Balaji Kiran, a 2013-batch Indian Railway Traffic Service (IRTS) officer, has recently assumed additional charge as the Chief Public Relations Officer (CPRO) of South Coast Railway.
He has also been serving as Deputy General Manager-cum-Secretary to the General Manager since November 2025.
Welcoming the development, Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu described the operationalisation of the new zone as a historic milestone and thanked Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw for fulfilling a long-pending aspiration of the people of the state.
“The inauguration of the South Coast Railway Zone, centred in Visakhapatnam, marks a historic milestone. Our decades-long dream is being realised. The new railway zone will comprehensively transform the transportation landscape of North Andhra and pave the way for new employment opportunities and industrial growth,” Naidu said in a post on X.
He said the zone would play a key role in transforming Andhra Pradesh into a logistics hub by strengthening rail connectivity, supporting port-led development and attracting industrial investments.
The Ministry of Railways formally constituted the South Coast Railway Zone through a gazette notification issued on May 4, 2026, notifying June 1, 2026, as the effective date of its functioning.
The genesis of the zone dates back to the Andhra Pradesh Reorganisation Act, 2014, which envisaged the creation of a separate railway zone for the reorganised state. The Centre announced the formation of the zone on February 17, 2019, and the Union Cabinet subsequently approved the Detailed Project Report. Prime Minister Narendra Modi laid the foundation stone for the zone’s headquarters at Visakhapatnam on January 8, 2025, while the Union Cabinet granted final approval to the modified DPR in February 2025.
Covering a total rail network of 3,532 km, the new zone will comprise four divisions — Vijayawada, Guntur and Guntakal divisions from South Central Railway (SCR), and the reorganised Visakhapatnam Division carved out of the erstwhile Waltair Division of East Coast Railway (ECoR).
As part of the reorganisation, the existing 1,106 route km Waltair Division has been bifurcated, with 541 km transferred to Rayagada Division, 115 km to Khurda Road Division under ECoR, while the remaining 460 km forms the new Visakhapatnam Division under SCoR.
Following the restructuring, the route kilometre network under SCoR will comprise 956 km in Vijayawada Division, 1,452 km in Guntakal Division, 630 km in Guntur Division and 450 km in Visakhapatnam Division.
The zone will primarily serve Andhra Pradesh while extending its reach to parts of Telangana, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka and Odisha. Railway officials expect the new zone to enhance administrative efficiency, accelerate infrastructure projects, improve passenger amenities and strengthen freight movement across major ports, industrial corridors and economic centres.
With Visakhapatnam emerging as a major maritime and industrial hub on the east coast, the operationalisation of South Coast Railway is expected to provide a significant impetus to regional economic development and integrated logistics growth.
TNT KM
