The year 2019 was the most momentous for the people of north Andhra as their long-cherished dream of a separate railway zone became a reality after a prolonged struggle. Prime Minister Narendra Modi had announced the decision to establish a new railway zone in Andhra Pradesh with Visakhapatnam as its headquarters at an election meeting, ahead of the 2019 general elections.
Subsequently on February 27, 2019, Railway Minister Piyush Goyal announced the new zone — South Coast Railway (S Co R) — albeit with a rider. It was decided to bifurcate Waltair Division and merge one part with the proposed new railway division at Rayagada in Odisha, and the residual part of Waltair Division with Vijayawada Division.
While the decision to locate the zonal headquarters in Visakhapatnam was widely hailed, the move to do away with Waltair Division altogether caused resentment among the people of the region. In the process of establishing the new zone, a Detailed Project Report (DPR), prepared by the Officer on Special Duty (OSD), was submitted to the Railway Board and is awaiting its approval.
The DPR suggested construction of the zonal headquarters office in an extent of 20 acres of land at an estimated cost of ₹111.02 crore. The railway land available between the DRM’s Office and the Officers Rest House in Wireless Colony is proposed for this purpose.
On growth path
Apart from the major achievement, the railways initiated a number of measures to be on the growth track.
The Wagon Repair Shop, being established on a 178-acre land at Vadlapudi, in the limits of the Greater Visakhapatnam Municipal Corporation limits, is ready for inauguration. The unit will ensure availability of wagons for Visakhapatnam Port Trust (VPT) and Gangavaram Port and other industries in the city.
On the expansion front, the officials of Waltair Division submitted a proposal for development of the Marripalem Passenger Halt, located about 5 km away from the main station, for construction of four platforms at an estimated cost of Rs.76 crore.
The Visakhapatnam Railway station got a facelift under the station redevelopment plan taken up at an estimated cost of ₹10 crore, says Senior Divisional Commercial Manager G. Suneel Kumar. The other development works completed at the station include provision of four additional escalators and two lifts
New trains
The Visakhapatnam- Vijayawada Double Decker Express and the Visakhapatnam-Subedarganj express were introduced from Visakhapatnam this year and a proposal submitted for running of Visakhapatnam-Bengaluru Express is awaiting approval of the Railway Board.
On the revenue front, Waltair Division netted a gross revenue of ₹7,979.61 crore, which includes a freight revenue of ₹7,302.27 crore and passenger revenue of ₹554.39 crore, in the 2018-19 financial year, which concluded in March, 2019. The division loaded 61.91 million tonnes and the passenger volume was 36.28 million.
Visakhapatnam bagged the National Tourism Award for the ‘best tourist-friendly station’. The Division bagged nine efficiency shields for outstanding performance in the fields of commercial, mechanical, coaching depot, Rajbhasha, signal and telecom, sports, security, survey and construction.
