Vizag rail zone will launch operations soon: Minister

The South Coast Railway (SCoR) zone, with Visakhapatnam as its headquarters, will launch its operations soon. This was announced by Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw in the Lok Sabha on March 18.

According to the Minister, the state government handed over 52.2 acres of land at Mudasarlova in Visakhapatnam to the Railway Department in August 2024.

A sum of Rs. 106.89 crore has been sanctioned for the construction of the South Coast Railway Zone headquarters building.

The foundation stone for the zone was laid in January 2025, and currently, the foundation work for the headquarters building has been completed.

The VMRDA building, ‘The Deck,’ is ready to facilitate the commencement of the zone’s operations, and administrative functioning will begin soon from this location.

The appointment of the general manager and other senior officials for the zone has been completed.

On the budgetary allocations and other projects in Andhra Pradesh, he said: “While average annual railway allocations between 2009 and 2014 stood at Rs. 886 crore, Andhra Pradesh received a record allocation of Rs. 9,417 crore in 2025-26.”

Compared to the past, the pace of track construction has doubled, with an average of 143 km of new track work being undertaken annually.

A sum of Rs 2,047 crore has been sanctioned for the new Errupalem–Amaravati–Namburu railway line (57 km), and the land acquisition process has already commenced.

Currently, 39 railway projects (comprising new lines and track doubling works) worth Rs. 70,232 crore are underway in Andhra Pradesh.

Also read: CM launches ‘Divyang Shakti’ scheme in state

Stay tuned to Yo! Vizag website and Instagram for more city and news updates.

This article is written by Senior Journalist Lakkoju Nagesh Babu