Indian Railways Logo Gets 18th Star as SCoR Zone Launches
Indian Railways has unveiled a revised logo featuring 18 red stars to mark the launch of the South Coast Railway (SCoR) as the country’s 18th railway zone from June 1, 2026.
In an office order issued on May 27, 2026, the Railway Board announced that the updated logo had been approved by the Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of the Railway Board for official use across the Indian Railways network.
According to the Railway Board, the revised emblem incorporates 18 red stars, reflecting the addition of South Coast Railway as the country’s 18th zone, in line with its operational commencement.
The South Coast Railway zone, headquartered in Visakhapatnam, was formally constituted through a gazette notification issued by the Ministry of Railways on May 4, 2026. The notification stated that the new zone has been carved out of the existing East Coast Railway and South Central Railway zones and will come into effect from June 1, 2026.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi laid the foundation stone for the South Coast Railway headquarters at Mudasarlova in Visakhapatnam on January 8, 2025. The headquarters is being developed on 52.2 acres of land.
Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw informed the Rajya Sabha in August 2025 that the project had been sanctioned at an estimated cost of ₹183.58 crore and that the contract for construction of the zonal headquarters office building had already been awarded.
The South Coast Railway zone will comprise the Guntakal, Guntur, Vijayawada and Visakhapatnam railway divisions, which will serve parts of Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Karnataka and Tamil Nadu.
As part of the restructuring, the existing Waltair Division of East Coast Railway will be bifurcated. One portion will remain under East Coast Railway and will be renamed the Rayagada Division, while the remaining section will become the Visakhapatnam Division under the newly formed South Coast Railway zone.
The launch of the new zone is expected to strengthen railway administration and improve operational efficiency across the region, particularly in Andhra Pradesh, where there has been a long-standing regional demand for a dedicated railway zone based in Visakhapatnam.