South Coastal Railway: 8 Benefits of Vizag Railway Zone

Vizag Railway Zone Benefits: As confirmed by the centre on Wednesday, the much coveted Vizag Railway Zone was announced to Andhra Pradesh. The South Coast Railway (SCoR) became the 18^th railway zone in the country. To be headquartered at Visakhapatnam, the new zone will consist of the existing Guntakal, Guntur, and Vijayawada Division.

Wait… Where’s Waltair division then? Here’s the catch. The erstwhile Waltair division would be bifurcated into two parts. While one part would be incorporated in zone headquartered at Visakhapatnam, the other would be retained by the East Coast Railway zone and would form a new division with headquarters at Rayagada. The South Central Railway zone would now consist of Hyderabad, Secunderabad and Nanded divisions.

According to the Divisional Railway Manager Waltair division Mukul Saran Mathur, the South Coast Railway will emerge as one of the premier railway zones of the country. He also added that the divisional boundaries would be finalized in due course of time taking into consideration, the operational convenience, availability of infrastructure and causing bare minimum disruption.

The DRM also said the zone’s headquarters could function from Waltair division’s headquarters as new buildings would be constructed in the surplus railways’ lands at Vadlapudi(123 acres) and at Mudasarlova(52 acres).

Here are some of the benefits of the Vizag Railway Zone which the state of Andhra Pradesh and the city of Visakhapatnam would reap once the new zone becomes completely operational.

• The establishment of the new zone would boost employment in the state. It would result in a new Railway Recruitment Board at Visakhapatnam. Also, new coaching depots and mechanised laundries are expected to come up providing employment to many.
• More trains would originate from Visakhapatnam and Andhra Pradesh. This includes the introduction of Rajdhanis, Shatabdis, Jan Shatabdis, Humsafars etc.
• Increased quota allocation as more trains would now originate from the state.
• Regional tourism packages
• More MEMUs (Mainline Electric Multiple Units) and DEMUs (Diesel Electric Multiple Units) connecting cities in AP.
• Suburban railway systems in Visakhapatnam, Vijayawada and other cities on the lines of MMTS in Hyderabad. In Visakhapatnam, the suburban railway can be developed on two stretches: Visakhapatnam-Kottavalasa Jn. And Visakhapatnam-Elamanchili. This would cut travel time, reduce traffic congestion and benefit daily commuters and students who live along the railway route.
• Better development and newer facilities such as the construction of more platforms at Visakhapatnam and a bulb line near Visakhapatnam to prevent the detention of trains at Kancharapalem Outer which I bet, many of you have experienced.
• The benefits also include better connectivity to Krishnapatnam and upcoming Bandar ports.

With inputs from Ravi Teja Dogga and Debabrata Malik