PM to lay foundation for S Co R Zone in Visakhapatnam on Wednesday

Prime Minister Modi to lay foundation stone for South Coastal Railway Zonal Headquarters in Visakhapatnam, fulfilling long-awaited dream.

The long-awaited dream of the people of North Andhra region is going to come true with Prime Minister Narendra Modi scheduled to lay the foundation stone for construction of the South Coastal Railway (S Co R) Zonal Headquarters in Visakhapatnam city on Wednesday (January 8) evening.

While welcoming the development, rail activists and trade union leaders, who have been waging struggles for a separate railway zone, with headquarters in Visakhapatnam, for the past few decades, say it’s not the time to be complacent as already Waltair Division has lost a lot, be it in the allocation of funds, filling up of vacant posts and laying of new lines. The immediate need is to insist on operationalisation of the S Co R, without any further delay.

“The delay in the operationalisation of S Co R is resulting in vacant posts in Waltair Division being transferred to Khurda and Sambalpur Divisions in Odisha. I had taken the issue to the notice of Visakhapatnam MP M. Sribharat, who has taken it to the notice of Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw,” says former general secretary of East Coast Railway Shramik Union (E CoRSU) Chalasani Gandhi.

“The existing railway buildings or even the newly constructed five-storeyed Gati Shakti building, located close to the railway station, can be used for the S Co R General Manager’s office, pending construction of the Headquarters building,” he says.

The other issues which need to be addressed urgently include: continuation of the existing Waltair Division, with its headquarters in Visakhapatnam, and early approval of the Detailed Project Report (DPR), which is still pending with the Railway Board.

Assets of the Division like Diesel Loco Shed, Electric Loco Shed and Wagon Repair Ship (WRS) are located in Visakhapatnam city, and most of the employees would have to be stationed here. Further, the presence of divisional-level officials in the city is required to ensure better coordination with the large number of public and private sector industries for allotment of rakes for transportation of raw materials and finished goods, say railway sources.

It may be recalled that architects had already come out with a Master Plan for construction of the S Co R Headquarters building at an estimated cost of ₹154.82 crore, based on plinth area rate fixed by the Central Public Works Department (CPWD) in 2021.