Vijayawada: Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu on Tuesday welcomed the Railway ministry’s gazette notification for establishment of the South Coast Railway (SCoR) Zone with Visakhapatnam as its headquarters.
Naidu described this as the fulfilment of a long-pending demand of the people of Andhra Pradesh.
The Centre issued the notification on May 4, stating that the new railway zone would come into effect from June 1, 2026. This would be the 18th railway zone.
The new zone will have jurisdiction over Guntakal, Guntur and Vijayawada divisions of South Central Railway, along with the reorganised Waltair Division of East Coast Railway, which will now be renamed Visakhapatnam Division.
The Waltair division will be bifurcated, with one part remaining under East Coast Railway as the new Rayagada division, while the remaining portion will be integrated into the South Coast Railway Zone.
The new zone will cover Andhra Pradesh, along with parts of Odisha and Chhattisgarh.
Officials said the restructuring is aimed at improving administrative efficiency and strengthening railway operations.
Work on the administrative aspects of the new zone gained momentum after the Naidu-led alliance government assumed office in the state in 2024. Last year, Prime Minister Narendra Modi laid the foundation stone for the zonal headquarters building in Visakhapatnam.
The Chief Minister, in a statement, thanked the PM and Union railway minister Ashwini Vaishnaw for issuing the notification.
He said Visakhapatnam as the zonal headquarters would improve railway administration and accelerate infrastructure development across the state. He added that the reorganisation of divisions, including merger of sections such as Palasa–Ichchapuram into Visakhapatnam Division, would improve connectivity in North Andhra.
IT minister N. Lokesh termed the development a “defining moment” for the state’s transport network. This, he said, would strengthen railway infrastructure and improve passenger and freight services.
Roads minister B.C. Janardhan Reddy said the decision would usher in a new era for the transport sector and create employment opportunities. TD state president and Gajuwaka MLA Palla Srinivasa Rao said the move fulfilled a decades-long demand of north Andhra.
BJP state president P.V.N. Madhav and Union ministers Ashwini Vaishnaw and K. Ram Mohan Naidu welcomed the notification, calling it a key step for logistics and industrial growth.
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