{"id":1935,"date":"2025-07-25T07:36:22","date_gmt":"2025-07-25T07:36:22","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/railtravels.org\/?page_id=1935"},"modified":"2025-07-25T07:36:22","modified_gmt":"2025-07-25T07:36:22","slug":"establishment-of-new-railway-zone-in-andhra-pradesh","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/www.reilsolar.com\/train\/establishment-of-new-railway-zone-in-andhra-pradesh\/","title":{"rendered":"Establishment of New Railway Zone in Andhra Pradesh"},"content":{"rendered":"

Establishment of new Railway Zone in Andhra Pradesh<\/strong><\/p>\n

GOVERNMENT OF INDIA<\/strong>
\nMINISTRY OF RAILWAYS<\/strong>
\nRAJYA SABHA<\/strong><\/p>\n

QUESTION NO 2529<\/p>\n

ANSWERED ON 16.03.2025<\/p>\n

Establishment of new Railway Zone in Andhra Pradesh<\/strong><\/p>\n

2529 Shri C.M. Ramesh
\nWill the Minister of RAILWAYS be pleased to state :-
\n(a) the reasons Ministry is not revealing recommendations made by the Committee constituted to look into the establishment of a new Railway Zone in Andhra Pradesh as mandated by the Andhra Pradesh Reorganisation Act, 2014;<\/p>\n

(b) whether any State is opposing this move; and<\/p>\n

(c) if so, the details of such State (s) and the reasons therefor?<\/p>\n

ANSWER
\nMINISTER OF STATE IN THE MINISTRY OF RAILWAYS (SHRI RAJEN GOHAIN)<\/strong><\/p>\n

(a) to (c): In view of the complexities involved in the exercise, the Report of the Committee constituted to inter-alia examine the feasibility of establishing a new Railway Zone, is under further detailed examination in the Ministry of Railways.<\/p>\n

Here\u2019s the most up-to-date overview of the establishment of a new railway zone in Andhra Pradesh<\/strong>:<\/p>\n

\n

\ud83d\ude86 South Coast Railway Zone \u2014 Andhra Pradesh\u2019s 18th Railway Zone<\/h2>\n

\u2714\ufe0f Cabinet Approval & Background<\/h3>\n
    \n
  • The Union Cabinet has granted ex-post facto approval<\/strong> for a new zone named South Coast Railway (SCoR)<\/strong>, headquartered in Visakhapatnam, Andhra Pradesh<\/strong>, fulfilling a commitment under the Andhra Pradesh Reorganisation Act, 2025<\/strong><\/li>\n
  • The foundation stone for the zone’s headquarters was laid by Prime Minister Modi in January 2025<\/strong>, and cabinet approval followed in February 2025<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n

    \ud83d\udcc2 Organizational Restructuring<\/h3>\n
      \n
    • The zone will include three divisions<\/strong>: Vijayawada<\/strong>, Guntur<\/strong>, and Guntakal<\/strong>, all formerly part of South Central Railway<\/strong>. Additionally, the Waltair division<\/strong> (previously under East Coast Railway) has been restructured:\n
        \n
      • The Andhra Pradesh\u2013based part<\/strong> becomes the new Visakhapatnam Railway Division<\/strong> under SCoR<\/strong>.<\/li>\n
      • The Odisha-based portion<\/strong> becomes the Rayagada Division<\/strong>, under East Coast Railway<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
        \n

        \ud83c\udfd7\ufe0f Infrastructure & Implementation Timeline<\/h2>\n
          \n
        • A 149-crore tender<\/strong> was floated in late 2025<\/strong> to build the zone’s headquarters in Visakhapatnam\u2014a multi-storey complex on a 50-acre site near Mudasarlova<\/li>\n
        • Operational readiness is underway, though a formal notification for full operationalization is still pending<\/strong> as of mid-2025<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
          \n

          \u2699\ufe0f Significance & Strategic Impacts<\/h2>\n
            \n
          • Purpose<\/strong>: Streamline administrative control, improve regional service delivery, and boost freight\/logistics efficiency for major ports like Visakhapatnam, Kakinada, and Krishnapatnam<\/li>\n
          • Revenue Concerns<\/strong>: The former Waltair division was ECoR\u2019s high-earning unit (nearly 50% of ECoR revenue in FY 2023\u201324). East Odisha politicians have expressed concern over fiscal impacts following the carve-out<\/li>\n
          • Criticism<\/strong>: A Railway Board internal report had previously warned that forming state-centric zones could erode Indian Railways’ unified structure and national perspective<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
            \n

            \ud83d\udcca At-a-Glance Summary<\/h2>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n
            Feature<\/th>\nDetails<\/th>\n<\/tr>\n<\/thead>\n
            Zone Name<\/strong><\/td>\nSouth Coast Railway (SCoR) \u2014 18th Indian Railways zone<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
            HQ Location<\/strong><\/td>\nVisakhapatnam, Andhra Pradesh<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
            Effective Date<\/strong><\/td>\nCabinet approval in Feb 2025<\/strong>, foundational work from Jan 2025<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
            Divisions Included<\/strong><\/td>\nVijayawada, Guntur, Guntakal \u2192 from SCR; Waltair \u2192 split into Visakhapatnam (part) and Rayagada (Odisha part)<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
            Major Developments<\/strong><\/td>\nTender issued for HQ building (\u20b9149 cr); formal notification pending<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
            Strategic Benefits<\/strong><\/td>\nImproved logistics, focused administration, port efficiency<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
            Contentions \/ Risks<\/strong><\/td>\nConcerns over ECoR revenue loss, internal objections over zonal fragmentation<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n
            \n

            \u2705 What\u2019s Next?<\/h2>\n
              \n
            • Watch for official notification and operational rollout<\/strong> from the Railway Ministry.<\/li>\n
            • Construction progress<\/strong> on the Visakhapatnam headquarters and its 149-cr tender is underway<\/li>\n
            • Stakeholder dialogues are likely to continue in Odisha over ECoR\u2019s divestiture, while Andhra Pradesh officials push forward<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n

              Would you like help tracking developments such as division guidelines, timelines for the operational launch of SCoR, or broader discussions around administrative changes in Indian Railways?<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

              Establishment of new Railway Zone in Andhra Pradesh GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF RAILWAYS RAJYA SABHA QUESTION NO 2529 ANSWERED ON 16.03.2025 Establishment of new Railway Zone in Andhra Pradesh 2529 Shri C.M. Ramesh Will the Minister of RAILWAYS be pleased to state :- (a) the reasons Ministry is not revealing recommendations made by the […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":102,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-1935","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.reilsolar.com\/train\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/1935","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.reilsolar.com\/train\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.reilsolar.com\/train\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.reilsolar.com\/train\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/102"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.reilsolar.com\/train\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1935"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.reilsolar.com\/train\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/1935\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.reilsolar.com\/train\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1935"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}