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South Coast Railway zone

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South Coast Railway
South Coast Railway in dark blue
Temporary headquarters of SCoR at The Deck
Overview
HeadquartersThe Deck, Siripuram, Visakhapatnam, Andhra Pradesh, India
Key peopleSandeep Mathur, General Manager
Reporting markSCoR
LocaleAndhra Pradesh and parts of Karnataka, Telangana, Tamil Nadu
Dates of operation1 June 2026; 4 months ago (1 June 2026)–present
PredecessorECoR
SCR
Technical
Track gauge5 ft 6 in (1,676 mm)
Electrification25 kV 50 Hz AC
Length3,532.407 km (2,194.936 mi)
Other
WebsiteOfficial Website

The South Coast Railway (abbreviated SCoR) is one of the 19 railway zones of the Indian Railways. The zonal headquarters is located at Visakhapatnam, Andhra Pradesh having four divisions – Guntakal, Guntur, Vijayawada and Visakhapatnam.[1]

Aerial view of Construction status of South Coast Railway Zone Headquarters in Visakhapatnam in March 2026. Kambalakonda Wildlife Sanctuary can be seen in the background
Construction status of South Coast Railway Zone Headquarters in Visakhapatnam in March 2026

The zone has been operational since 1 June 2026.[2][3]

History

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The Andhra Pradesh Reorganization Act, 2014 was enacted paving way for the formation of South Coast railway zone. The Government of India has announced the creation of the zone on 17 February 2019.[4] On 28 February 2019, the Union cabinet approved the detailed project report. After a six-year delay, Prime Minister Narendra Modi laid the foundation stone for the construction of headquarters at Visakhapatnam on 8 January 2025.[5][6]

The union cabinet gave post-facto approval to the final Detailed Project report of South Coast Railway zone with partial modifications to it on 7 February 2025.[7][8] Later, on 28 April 2026, Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw announced that the new South Coastal Zone will come into existence and start functioning from 1 June 2026. Addressing a gathering after the Ground Breaking Ceremony of Google Cloud India AI Hub at Visakhapatnam, Vaishnaw said, "Gazette Notification for the creation of South Coastal Railway Zone will be issued, with 1 June 2026 being notified as the effective date".[9]

Divisions

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South Coast Railway consists of four railway divisions. They are:

Network

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The zone covers the state of Andhra Pradesh and parts of Karnataka, Telangana, Tamil Nadu.

Route Length

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The 1106 route km of the present Waltair division is distributed between East Coast Railway – Rayagada division (541 km), Khurda division (115 km) and Visakhapatnam division (460 km). SCoR's division-wise route km and running track km is as follows: Vijayawada – 1,111 and 2,409 respectively, Guntakal – 1,346 and 2,183, Guntur – 613 and 883 and Visakhapatnam – 450 and 979 respectively.

Jurisdiction of Visakhapatnam Division

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The following sections remain under Visakhapatnam railway division after carving out Rayagada railway division from Waltair railway division.

  • Duvvada - Visakhapatnam - Palasa - Ichchapuram
  • Duvvada - Simhachalam North
  • Vadlapudi - Duvvada
  • Visakhapatnam Steel Plant - Vadlapudi
  • Vizianagaram - Kuneru
  • Naupada Jn - Parlakhemundi
  • Bobbili - Salur

Jurisdiction of Guntakal Division

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  • Guntakal - Raichur (excluding)
  • Guntakal - Dhone - Nandyal (excluding)
  • Nandyal - Yerraguntla
  • Guntakal - Ballari (excluding)
  • Guntakal - Renigunta
  • Guntakal - Dharmavaram
  • Dharmavaram - Pakala
  • Gudur (excluding) - Renigunta - Pakala - Katpadi (excluding)
  • Kadapa - Pendlimarri
  • Pendekallu - Gooty
  • Gooty - Kalluru

Jurisdiction of Guntur Division

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  • Guntur - Vishnupuram (exclusive)
  • New Piduguralla - Savalyapuram
  • Nallapadu - Nandyal
  • Guntur - Tenali (exclusive) - Repalle
  • Guntur - Krishna Canal (exclusive)
  • Nadikudi - Macherla
  • Guntur byepass line
  • Gundlakamma- Kanigiri

Jurisdiction of Vijayawada Division

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Performance and earnings

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The zone operates more than 500 trains during peak season to clear the rush of passengers.[10] For the financial year 2020–2021, the zone is expected to collect ₹13,000 crore (equivalent to ₹170 billion or US$1.7 billion in 2026)[11] per annum as per the DPR of SCoR.

Infrastructure

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Wi-Fi Stations

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Various railway stations in South Coast Railway zone are Wi-Fi enabled, provided by Railwire in association with Google which are as follows:

Depots in divisions

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The zone has passenger coach care depots at Visakhapatnam in Visakhapatnam railway division.Kakinada, Narsapur, Machilipatnam, Vijayawada in Vijayawada railway division. Nallapadu, Guntur in Guntur railway division. Tirupati and Guntakal in Guntakal railway division. Additionally Vijayawada, Visakhapatnam and Gooty have wagon maintenance depots.[13]

Pit Lines

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The zone has 7 pitlines at Vijayawada, 3 pitlines at Kakinada, 2 pitlines at Narsapuram, 2 pitlines at Machilipatnam, 5 pitlines at Tirupathi, 1 pitline at Guntakal, 6 pitlines at Visakhapatnam, 3 pitlines at Guntur, 1 Pitline at Nallapadu

Training Institutes

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The zone has training institutes for imparting and learning railway techniques serving both Indian as well as foreign railway personnel at Vijayawada and Guntakal.

Healthcare

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Divisional hospitals at Visakhapatnam, Vijayawada, Guntakal, Guntur and Rayanapadu have healthcare facilities serving exclusively for the employees of Indian railways and their families.[14]

Loco Sheds

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The zone has loco sheds at:

It also has four electric loco trip sheds at Guntakal, Renigunta, Vijayawada and Visakhapatnam.

There are plans to convert the trip shed in Guntakal to an electric loco shed.

See also

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References

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  1. ↑ "Cabinet approves South Coast Railway zone". Press Information Bureau.
  2. ↑ "South coast railway zone press release". Pib.nic.in. 28 February 2019.
  3. ↑ Peri, Usha (1 June 2026). "After decades-long wait, South Coast Railway set to begin operations from Visakhapatnam on June 1". The New Indian Express. Retrieved 1 June 2026.
  4. ↑ "'Longstanding demand fulfiled [sic]': PM Modi lays foundation for South Coast Railway zone". The Indian Express. 9 January 2025. Retrieved 8 February 2025.
  5. ↑ Vedulla, Srinivas (8 January 2025). "Andhra's decades-long dream: PM Modi lays foundation stone for South Coast Railway zone admin buildings". The South First. Retrieved 8 February 2025.
  6. ↑ Gopal, B. Madhu (24 November 2024). "Tenders called for construction of South Coast Railway office in Vizag". The Hindu. ISSN 0971-751X. Retrieved 8 February 2025.
  7. ↑ "Union Cabinet: విశాఖ కేంద్రంగా సౌత్‌ కోస్ట్ రైల్వే జోన్‌ .. కేంద్ర కేబినెట్‌ ఆమోదం". EENADU (in Telugu). Retrieved 7 February 2025.
  8. ↑ "Revision of divisional jurisdiction under the South Coast Railway zone at Vishakhapatnam by retention of truncated Waltair division". PIB. 7 February 2025.
  9. ↑ "South Coastal Railway Zone to become operational from June 1: Ashwini Vaishnaw - The Economic Times". economictimes.indiatimes.com. Retrieved 11 July 2026.
  10. ↑ Geetanath, V. (16 May 2019). "South Central Railway micromanaging operations for better functioning". The Hindu. Retrieved 20 May 2019.
  11. ↑ G, Sarthak (3 March 2019). "SCR dreads drastic fall in revenue post bifurcation". The Times of India. Hyderabad. Retrieved 25 May 2019.
  12. ↑ "Railwire wifi stations project | free wi-fi". www.railwire.co.in. Retrieved 8 July 2019.
  13. ↑ "[IRFCA] Indian Railways FAQ: Locomotive Sheds and Workshops". www.irfca.org. Retrieved 28 February 2019.
  14. ↑ "Ministry of Railways (Railway Board)". www.indianrailways.gov.in. Retrieved 28 February 2019.
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