South Coast Railway executes Rs 54,000-Crore projects

Metro India News | Vijayawada 

Barely two months after its formation, the South Coast Railway (SCoR) Zone has emerged as one of India's fastest-growing railway zones, executing infrastructure projects worth over Rs 54,000 crore while planning another Rs 71,000 crore in upcoming works.

According to the zone administration, SCoR is currently implementing five new railway line projects and 24 multi-tracking works involving investments of Rs 54,479 crore. Projects worth Rs 70,865 crore are also in the pipeline. The zone is constructing more than 300 Road Over Bridges (ROBs) and Road Under Bridges (RUBs) to improve rail safety and road connectivity.

Among the major sanctioned projects are the Rs 300-crore Visakhapatnam Yard remodelling project, featuring six additional lines, six new platforms, electronic interlocking and platform widening, the Rs 1,205-crore Guntakal-Ballari quadrupling project, and Rs 20 crore for crowd management facilities at Tirupati.

The zone has also completed key infrastructure works, including yard remodelling on the Narsapur-Vijayawada and Garudaballi-Visakhapatnam sections, expansion of automatic block signalling between Nellore and Telamanchi, and installation of the Kavach collision prevention system on nearly 100 locomotives. The first 100-km Kavach section is expected to be commissioned by the end of 2026.

Operational since June 1, the new railway zone was established from scratch, involving creation of infrastructure, manpower deployment, budget allocation and project redistribution. It now comprises four divisions, covering 3,532 route kilometres and 6,455 track kilometres, with annual freight loading exceeding 100 million tonnes and expected originating revenue of Rs 15,500 crore.

Senior railway officials have inspected nearly 1,700 route kilometres to strengthen safety standards. The zone has also recorded strong operational performance, earning Rs 2,493 crore in originating revenue, including Rs 671 crore from passenger services. It handled 29.4 million originating passengers, registering a 3% annual growth. Passenger amenities have also received a major boost. Three Amrit Bharat Stations—Rayanapadu, Mangalagiri and Cumbum—have been inaugurated, while redevelopment is underway at 70 more stations. The zone has converted four Train-on-Demand services into regular trains, operated 76 special trains carrying nearly 86,000 passengers, added 408 extra coaches, and upgraded the Simhadri Express and Guntur-Vikarabad Express to LHB coaches.

SCoR has also introduced sleeping pods at Vijayawada Railway Station and premium "Deccan Chai" catering services at Visakhapatnam Railway Station, while planning additional third and fourth railway lines and yard remodelling to ease congestion around Visakhapatnam and Tirupati.