New railway zone in Visakhapatnam will be formed at any cost, says Union Minister

South Coast Railway (SCoR), the proposed railway zone with HQ at Visakhapatnam, has currently become a hot topic in Andhra Pradesh. The news about the Central Government expressing its disinterest in the allocation of the new some has spread like wildfire and saw reactions both from politicians and public alike. It was reported that the Chairman and CEO of the Railway Board, VK Tripathi, had addressed this issue in a meeting with AP and Telangana government officials in Delhi on Tuesday. Rubbishing all these rumours, Union Railway Minister, Ashwini Vaishnaw, asserted that the new railway zone would be set up at any cost.

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The railway department released a statement regarding the same and stated that an architectural plan was recently submitted to the ministry for scrutiny. It was also clarified that the new South Coast Railway (SCoR) zone would comprise the existing Guntakal, Guntur, and Vijayawada divisions and a part of the Waltair Division. The rest of the Waltair Division would be submerged into another new division with HQ at Rayagada.

Further, the railways added that an Officer on Special Duty (OSD) had been appointed to undertake the planning and preparatory work for forming the new railway zone in Visakhapatnam. According to the statement, a Detailed Project Report (DPR) submitted by the OSD is also under review. The location to construct the Zonal HQ has also been finalised, and layout plans for the office, staff quarters, and other prerequisites have been prepared.

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