In 2019, there was excitement in Andhra Pradesh when Union Minister of Railways Piyush Goyal announced a new railway zone, the South Coast Railway (SCoR), with Visakhapatnam as its headquarters. Three years on, construction has still not commenced.
The SCoR will comprise the Guntakal, Guntur and Vijayawada divisions. Waltair division, which covers the northern areas of Andhra Pradesh, parts of Chhattisgarh and Odisha, will be split into two parts. While one part will be incorporated into the new zone and merged with the Vijayawada division, it is proposed that the remaining part will be converted into a new division with its headquarters in Rayagada under the East Coast Railway (ECoR).
Sensing dissatisfaction among the people about the split in the Waltair division and the merger of one part with the Vijayawada division, leaders of various regional political parties have been appealing to the Railways Minister to leave Waltair division as it is after utilising one part of it for the creation of Rayagada Division. In a recent reply to a question from Rajya Sabha member G.V.L. Narasimha Rao on the project, Union Railways Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw said a committee had been constituted to study the demands and concerns. This has given rise to apprehensions that the government is trying to delay the project further.
