SCoR zone awaits Gazette notification
The South Coast Railway (SCoR) zone has set up its temporary operational headquarters on the sixth and seventh floors of the VMRDA Deck building in Siripuram. However, the Railway Board has not yet issued the Gazette notification required to formally begin operations, according to railway sources.
The delay has stalled the start of administrative and operational work for the new zone, headquartered in Visakhapatnam.
In contrast, the East Coast Railway (ECoR) has moved faster on the newly created Rayagada Division. Authorities have begun station expansion and work to enhance platform capacity, sources said. They are also putting additional operational systems in place.
Earlier, ECoR had three divisions — Waltair, Khurda Road, and Sambalpur. Following the recent railway reorganisation, the authorities converted the Waltair Division headquarters in Visakhapatnam into the SCoR zone. That left ECoR with only two divisions. Since each zone needs at least three divisions, the Railways created the Rayagada Division by combining sections in Andhra Pradesh and Odisha.
Railway authorities have now directed officials to set up four Control Office Applications (COA) in the Rayagada Division to improve coordination. The proposed control boards will cover the routes Kottavalasa–Koraput, Koraput–Kirandul, Rayagada–Koraput–Kunuru–Rayagada–Tiruvalli, and Parlakimidi–Gunupur. Officials said the move would streamline train movement and improve operational control.
Railway circles have raised concerns over what they call an “uneven approach”. They said officials have focused on the Rayagada Division while key administrative clearances for SCoR remain pending.
Meanwhile, ECoR had proposed shifting the 100-km Kottavalasa–Araku stretch to the Rayagada Division, though the section lies entirely in Andhra Pradesh. MPs from the region had urged the Railway Minister to retain it in Waltair Division, citing the formation of SCoR for Andhra Pradesh.
Recent orders show that the Railways retained only Kottavalasa station under Waltair Division. They placed the Kirandul line, which begins about a kilometre beyond the station, under the Rayagada Division. The Railways retained the line towards Vizianagaram under Waltair up to Kunuru, and shifted the remaining stretch to the Rayagada Division.
Chalasani Gandhi, convener of the Railway Zone Struggle Committee, urged the Railway Board to issue the Gazette notification at the earliest.
“The Gazette notification is essential to commence operations. If the Railways can make arrangements for the Rayagada Division, they must show the same urgency for the Visakhapatnam zone,” he said.