DPR reveals more details on what is likely to be the final shape of the newest zone on Indian Railways
The newly created railway zone South Coast Railway (SCoR) is likely to commence operations earliest by February 2020. This is according to the detailed project report (DPR) submitted to the railway board.
The new zone will have three divisions- Vijayawada (BZA), Guntur (GNT) and Guntakal (GTL). The Waltair (WAT) division of ECoR will be split into 2 parts. The SCoR portion of WAT division will be merged with BZA division while the ECoR portion will go to the Khurda Road division (KUR) and the newly created Rayagada (RGDA) division.
SCoR will be under Commissioner of Railway Safety South Central circle Secunderabad.
| SCoR | |
| Division | Route km |
| BZA | 1414 |
| GTL | 1452 |
| GNT | 630 |
| Total | 3496 |
Bifurcation of WAT division
Of the existing 1106 route kilometres in WAT division, 115 will go to KUR division of ECoR, 541 route km to RGDA division of ECoR and the remaining 450 route km merged with BZA divison of SCoR. This will be as follows:
1. Koraput (KRPU)-Singapur Road (SPRD) -164 km to RGDA division
2. Kottavalasa (KTV)-Araku (ARK incl) – 106 km under SCoR while ARK (excl)-Kirandul (KRDL) -360 km under ECoR RGDA division
3. Vizianagaram (VZM)- SPRD section – VZM-Kuneru incl (KNRT) 102 km and Bobbili(VBL)- Salur (SALR) 17-km branch line to SCoR. KNRT excl- SPRD -37 km to RGDA division
4. New line between Theruvali (THV) and Gunupur (GNPR) – 79 km long to be under RGDA. This line connects VZM- PSA main line to VZM-R line. The PSA -Naupada (NWP) 25 km main line and the NWP -GNPR 90 km branch line will be under ECoR.
5. SCoR’s BZA division will get Duvvada (DVD)-VSKP-VZP-NWP main line besides all branch lines in and around VSKP: Duvvada (DVD) – Jaggayyapalem (JGPM), DVD-Vadlapudi (VDPD), VSKP Steel Plant- VDPD- Simhachalam North (SCMN) and SCMN -DVD bypass line.
Interchange points between SCoR and ECoR
The new zonal inter-change points proposed in DPR are as follows:
| Section | Interchange Point | Between divisions |
| VSKP-PSA mainline | Naupada under KUR division, ECoR | BZA-KUR |
| KTV-KRDL line | Araku under BZA division, SCoR | BZA and RGDA |
| R – VZM line | KNRT under BZA Divison, SCoR | BZA and RGDA |
Headquarter staff: order of priority
The order of priority for staffing will be: First, WAT division employees will be given an option to be posted at SCoR headquarters first, next in line will be SCR staff; then ECoR staff and finally employees from other zones.
Construction/ Projects Organisation
The construction organization and S&T (projects) of SCoR will also be split according to project works being executed as per the re-drawn zonal jurisdiction. 89 out of 182 SCR projects will go to SCoR. Of this, one doubling tripling /project is present in both these zones.
How it will be done
Once the DPR is approved, the earliest date of commencement of SCoR will be Feb 1 2020. This date could shift to April 1, 2020, in sync with the financial year. SCoR zonal headquarters will have a floor space of 23000 square metres.
| SCoR set up cost heads | in Rs crore |
| Headquarters construction | 111.02 |
| Officers’ quarters construction | 69.76 |
| 40 new SG/JAG posts at HQ | 6.3 |
| Re-do WAT division office | 4.8 |
| Re-do operational control boards at BZA | 1.3 |
| Total | 193.18 |
A multi-disciplinary team of officers under the officer on special duty (OSD) SCoR will implement the new zone creation. An ADRM will be posted at VSKP under the BZA division control to ensure smooth rail operations.
During the transition period- a central control will be set up at VSKP, WAT division control will be redistributed between BZA and RGDA/KUR and material management contracts during transition period will continue till the new material department is set up and they start working on new contracts.
| SCoR at a glance | |
| Route kilometres | 3496 |
| Track kilometres | 5437 |
| Freight loading FY19 | 86.7 million tonnes |
| Originating passengers FY19 | 192.5 million |
| Sanctioned staff strength | 65800 |
| Staff on rolls | 54500 |
| Freight handling ports | Visakhapatnam, Gangavaram, Krishnapatnam and Kakinada |
| Major stations | VSKP, BZA, TPTY |
| Loco sheds | 3 electric(BZA, GTL WAT) and 4 diesel ( WAT, BZA, GY and GTL) |
| Workshops | Carriage workshop TPTY, Wagon workshop Rayanapadu ( RYP) and new wagon workshop at Vadlapudi near VSKP |
| Major freight examination yards | WAT, BZA, COA and GY |
| Coaching depots | WAT, VSKP, TPTY, NS, MTM, BZA and Kakinada (COA) |
| Track Machine Workshop | Central POH at RYP |
| MEMU workshop | Rajahmundry (RJY) |
