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*Amid the political uproar over creation of South Coast Railway (SCoR) zone, carving it out of East Coast Railway (ECoR) and South Central Railway (SCR), a committee constituted by the Railway Board has recommended not to close down the contentious Waltair division.*

As proposed in the detailed project report (DPR) of SCoR zone, Waltair division, now under ECoR was to be split into two parts with one merging with Vijayawada division and the other converting into a new division headquartered at Rayagada.
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While the SCoR zone was proposed to have three divisions - Vijayawada, Guntur and Guntakal spreading across Andhra Pradesh and Telangana, ECoR zone is also to have three divisions - Khurda Road, Sambalpur and Rayagada, confined to Odisha, after the bifurcation.

The SAG committee constituted to review the DPR and look into the public demands of both Odisha and Andhra Pradesh has, however, recommended to retain the truncated Waltair division after splitting it into two parts with some administrative adaptations. The recommendations are awaiting the nod of the central cabinet.

According to the committee recommendations (accessed by The New Indian Express), around 565 km will fall within the jurisdiction of the truncated Waltair division and the rest 541 km will come under Rayagada division after the bifurcation. The Waltair division comprises around 1,106 route km.

The committee may have recommended against the closure of Waltair and advised an optimum staff strength of 105 gazetted and 780 non-gazetted officers for the new zone, but the demands of Odisha for inclusion of Kothavalasa-Kirandul Line and merger of major revenue earning railway lines of the state, now under other zones, with ECoR have reportedly been overlooked. What has left many perplexed is that the foundation stones have been laid for SCoR zonal headquarters and Rayagada divisional headquarters even before their respective boundaries are finalised. Prime Minister Narendra Modi laid the stones for both the projects earlier this week.

“The railway committee recommended retaining Waltair as per the demands of Andhra Pradesh, but surprisingly the demands of Odisha to merge the state’s railway portions, now under South Eastern Railway (SER) and South East Central Railway (SECR), with ECoR were not considered,” sources said.

Even as the DPR is pending for approval and a formal notification on commencement of the new zone is awaited since 2019, the matter was expedited this year only after the general elections. While BJP returned to power in Odisha, it is a part of the AP government formed in alliance with TDP and JSP.

Sources said while 11 parliamentary assurances are pending on the issues involving creation of SCoR zone and Rayagada division, they cannot be resolved unless a specific decision is taken on the DPR and the recommendations for setting up the new zone and division.



The formation of the South Coast Railway (SCoR) zone, bifurcation of the Waltair division, and creation of the Rayagada division are still posing challenges for the Railway Board. The MOR and the PMO are struggling to balance the interests of both Odisha and Andhra Pradesh, or rather ECoR & SCoR

The Waltair division is being split into two parts, with one part merging with the Vijayawada division under SCoR, and the remaining portion becoming the new Rayagada division under ECoR. This development has sparked unrest among other regions under the South Central Railway (SCR) that are slated to be bifurcated to SCoR, with some areas starting a silent agitation to withdraw this order.

The Railway Board is facing a daunting task in reconciling the competing demands and interests of various stakeholders. The situation remains delicate, with the board striving to find a balance that satisfies all parties involved.