Finally,the new South Coast Railway zone is a reality . For people in North Coastal Andhra,this has been such a long,long wait and now it's actually started operations from June 1,2026 .
This is India's 18th railway zone,and headquarters will be in Visakhapatnam,which is huge news for city . The whole SCoR project has been a dream for decades for so many people here.
And its not just small area ah. The zone covers whole of Andhra Pradesh and even parts of Telangana and Tamil Nadu . All big divisions are now under it,like Visakhapatnam,Vijayawada,Guntur,and Guntakal. This should really help with better management and hopefully,better trains.
They are saying annual revenue could be around ₹15,500 crore,which is massive number . During busy season,they plan to run over 500 passenger trains and 800 goods trains. That means more jobs,better connectivity... a lot is riding on this.
And honestly,this is where things get really interesting.
The official announcement came through gazette notification on May 5 . It involved moving divisions from the old South Central Railway (SCR) and East Coast Railway (ECoR) to create this new zone.
Few key things to know about SCoR:
- It will have 385 railway stations which should improve local travel big time .
- Around 62,000 staff members will be part of this,which is a lot of employment.
- Big focus on connecting with major ports for better cargo movement.
Politicians are obviously celebrating this as a historic moment . Civil Aviation Minister K. Ram Mohan Naidu was seen visiting stations and he even posted on social media about it. He said, "The commencement of the South Coast Railway Zone is an emotional and long-cherished dream fulfilled for the people of Andhra Pradesh, especially Uttarandhra."
And tbh,he is not wrong. This whole thing was promised way back during the state bifurcation in 2014 . To see it happen now only is a big relief for many .
But now that the celebrations are happening,the real work begins . The hope is that SCoR will actually lead to balanced regional development and not just be political talking point .
Everyone is watching to see if this new zone will actually solve old problems… better trains,cleaner stations,more options for freight. Let's see…
