Centre waves green flag for the new railway zone at Visakhapatnam

The Union Minister of Railways, Ashwini Viashnaw, has stated that the new South Coast Railway (SCoR) zone, headquartered at Visakhapatnam, has been officially approved by the Central Government. The proposed zone, which was promised by the Centre after AP bifurcation, has been commissioned in 2019. Though Rs 170 crores have been allocated, for setting up SCoR, in the 2020-21 Union Budget, the operational works have not commenced yet. When asked about the same by BJP MLA GVL Narasimha Rao, the Union Minister has positively replied and mentioned that the SCoR zone will get on track soon.

Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw also mentioned that the location for the construction of SCoR head office has also been finalized, Further, he directed the officials to speed up the process of a land survey, office layout planning, staff quarters planning, and other works. Post the reorganization of East Coast Railway (ECoR) and South Central Railway (SCR) zones, the new South Coast Railway zone was sanctioned with its headquarters in Visakhapatnam.

The minister also mentioned that the Waltair Division, which is a division of the ECoR, will be decommissioned. As a part of the Detailed Project Report (DPR), the Railways Minister stated that A new railway division at Rayagada will be formed. Additionally, an advisory committee of senior officials has been formed by the Ministry of Railways for the development of the project.