Indian Railways Notifies South Coast Railway (SCoR) Zone: Operations to Begin June 2026

06 May 2026, 13:25 by Vinay Kakkad · KalingaTV

After years of intense administrative and political deadlock, the Ministry of Railways has officially notified the establishment of the South Coast Railway (SCoR), making it the 18th railway zone of Indian Railways. The new headquarters are in Visakhapatnam, and the zone is set to kick off on June 1, 2026. This move checks off a big promise the Central Government made after Andhra Pradesh split in 2014—coming almost seven years after its announcement in the 2019 Union Budget.

SCoR brings closure to the ongoing tug-of-war between Odisha and Andhra Pradesh, mostly over the fate of the Waltair division, which rakes in huge revenue. For years, Waltair is one of India’s most profitable divisions due to the high-density mineral corridors passing through Odisha’s mining belts. To balance the competing interests of both states, the Centre stepped in with a restructuring plan: Waltair’s division splits in two. The coastal and Andhra segments turn into the new Visakhapatnam division under SCoR, while Odisha’s mineral corridors stick with ECoR, forming the new Rayagada division.

The South Coast Railway will manage about 3,300 km of tracks across Andhra Pradesh, plus parts of Telangana, Tamil Nadu, and Karnataka. It will have four main divisions: Guntakal (1,344 km), Vijayawada (1,002 km), Guntur (491 km), and the new Visakhapatnam (463 km). Meanwhile, Rayagada division under ECoR covers 696 route km, including major industrial lines like Koraput-Singapur Road, Kottavalasa-Kirandul, and Gunupur-Paralakhemundi—keeping Odisha’s freight earnings from iron ore and coal secure.

The Railway Board Secretary, R Mohanraja, laid out several operational changes to make traffic management smoother. These include moving Palasa-Ichchapuram to Visakhapatnam division, shifting the Raichur-Wadi stretch from Guntakal under SCoR to the Secunderabad division (SCR), and transferring Kondapalli-Motumarri from Secunderabad to Vijayawada under SCoR. Senior officials stressed this complicated shuffle—developed under Union Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw—was meant to answer regional demands without messing up the efficiency of India’s freight network.