3 min readJun 1, 2026 12:29 AM IST
South Coast Railway zone latest news: Indian Railways‘ newly created South Coast Railway (SCoR) Zone will start operations from June 1. The foundation stone for its headquarters in Visakhapatnam was laid by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on January 8, 2025. With the operationalisation of the SCoR, the total number of railway zones in the country increases to 18.
South Coast Railway zone gazette notification
In a gazette notification issued on May 4, 2026, the Ministry of Railways said: “In exercise of the powers conferred by sub-section (4) of Section 3 of the Railways Act, 1989 (No.24 of 1989), the Central Government hereby constitutes a new Zonal Railway namely SOUTH COAST RAILWAY with headquarters at Visakhapatnam, out of the existing East Coast Railway and South Central Railway zones, with effect from 01.06.2026.”
According to the notification, the existing Waltair Division of East Coast Railway will be bifurcated in two parts. One part will remain under the existing East Coast Railway and will be renamed as the new Rayagada Division, while the remaining portion of the Waltair Division will become part of the newly created South Coast Railway (SCoR) Zone and will be renamed as the Visakhapatnam Division.
Ichchapuram (incl.) — Palasa — Visakhapatnam — Duvvada (incl.)
270
Route km
Vizianagaram (incl.) — Kuneru (incl.)
102
Route km
Naupada Jn — Paralakhemundi (excl.)
39
Route km
Bobbili Jn — Salur
17
Route km
Peripheral Lines (Combined 35 Route km)
Simhachalam North — Duvvada Bypass
Vadalapudi — Duvvada
Visakhapatnam — Jaggayapalem etc.
Total Route Length
463 km
Note: incl. = including | excl. = excluding | Jurisdiction effective from 01.06.2026 following carving out of Rayagada Division
Express InfoGenIE
South Coast Railway zone divisions, routes
The South Coast Railway (SCoR) zone has been formed through the reorganisation of parts of the erstwhile South Central Railway (SCR) and East Coast Railway (ECoR) zones. It covers a vast rail network across Andhra Pradesh and also serves parts of Telangana and Tamil Nadu.
This new zone is expected to improve operational efficiency, strengthen passenger train services, enhance freight movement and facilitate faster execution of railway infrastructure and capacity expansion projects across the region.
The newly formed zone will consist of four divisions: Visakhapatnam (newly reorganized), Vijayawada, Guntur and Guntakal.
South Coast Railway zone starts functioning from June 1: Workforce, train operations
The zonal railway will manage a workforce of nearly 17,000 employees. It is expected to handle more than 500 trains during peak operational seasons and over 800 goods trains. It will also expected to play a crucial role in improving cargo movement and multimodal logistics for major ports.
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