The South Coast Railway Zone (SCoR), headquartered in Visakhapatnam, has taken a significant step forward with the appointment of a full-time General Manager. Sandeep Mathur, who currently holds the position of Principal Executive Director (Signal Modernisation) at the Railway Board, has been named as the General Manager for the newly carved zone.
This appointment follows persistent efforts by Visakhapatnam MP M Sribharat, who had been advocating for a dedicated GM to accelerate the operationalisation and development of the SCoR. In his earlier communication to the Union Minister of Railways, Sribharat emphasised that appointing a full-time GM was crucial for ensuring momentum in infrastructure and administrative preparedness.
Reacting to the news, MP Sribharat expressed satisfaction, stating that the long-cherished dream of Vizagites is beginning to materialise. He reiterated that with the Waltair Division integrated, the South Coast Railway Zone is no longer just a proposal. The MP also assured that efforts are underway to expedite the official gazette notification formalising the zone.
The move was widely welcomed by local stakeholders and railway union leaders, who credited the MP’s sustained advocacy for this breakthrough.
Meanwhile, Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu extended his appreciation to President Droupadi Murmu, Prime Minister Narendra Modi, and Union Railways Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw for prioritising the SCoR vision. In a social media post shared on the late night of 5 June, the Chief Minister thanked the Union Government for appointing Mathur as the General Manager of South Coast Railway Zone and wished him a successful tenure.
The formation of the South Coast Railway Zone has been a long time coming. First proposed under the Andhra Pradesh Reorganisation Act of 2014, it was envisioned as a corrective measure to better serve the reorganised state’s rail infrastructure needs. However, bureaucratic hurdles and shifting priorities delayed progress for more than a decade.
It was only in January 2025 that Prime Minister Narendra Modi formally laid the foundation stone for the SCoR headquarters, marking a pivotal moment in the zone’s journey from promise to execution.
The zone is being carved out from existing jurisdictions of the East Coast Railway (ECoR) and South Central Railway (SCR), in a move expected to bring more focused governance, streamlined operations, and economic benefits to the region. While there is optimism about the zone’s potential, some continue to raise concerns about the long wait and question whether the delays have impacted the benefits it was meant to bring.
Nonetheless, the appointment of a dedicated General Manager signals a strong push toward operational readiness.
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