SOUTH COAST RAILWAY MARKS A STRONG BEGINNING WITH SIGNIFICANT ACHIEVEMENTS IN JUST TWO MONTHS OF OPERATIONS South Coast Railway (SCoR), operational since 1st June 2026, has made remarkable progress in establishing itself as one of the country’s emerging railway zones by laying a strong foundation in infrastructure development, safety, passenger services and operational efficiency despite the challenges associated with setting up a new railway zone.The formation of South Coast Railway involved building the organization virtually from scratch, including creation of infrastructure, manpower deployment, financial arrangements, budget allocation, redistribution of projects, establishment of control systems and implementation of operational rule books. Today, the Zone comprises four divisions, covering nearly 3,532 Route Kilometres (RKM) and 6,455 Track Kilometres (TKM), with an anticipated originating revenue of ₹15,500 crore and freight loading exceeding 100 million tonnes annually. The Zone also oversees 7 loco sheds, 3 workshops, 7 coaching depots, 4 freight depots, besides serving four major ports.
Safety has been accorded the highest priority since the inception of the Zone. South Coast Railway commenced its operations with a comprehensive safety review of all four divisions and, over the past two months, senior officials have inspected nearly 1,700 Route Kilometres (3,000 Track Kilometres) to assess infrastructure, understand public requirements, review ongoing works and strengthen safety standards across the network.
The Zone is presently executing 5 new railway line projects and 24 multi-tracking works, involving investments of approximately ₹54,479 crore, while projects worth nearly ₹70,865 crore are in the pipeline. In addition, construction of more than 300 Road Over Bridges (ROBs) and Road Under Bridges (RUBs) is under progress to improve safety and connectivity.Special attention has also been given to major public events, with South Coast Railway undertaking a dedicated review of railway arrangements for the forthcoming Godavari Pushkarams at Rajahmundry.Within just two months of its formation, South Coast Railway has secured several important project sanctions, including the ₹300 crore Visakhapatnam Yard Remodeling Project, featuring six additional lines, six new platforms (Platform Nos. 8 to 14), electronic interlocking and platform widening, as well as the ₹1,205 crore Guntakal–Ballari Quadrupling Project and ₹20 crore crowd management facilities at Tirupati.The Zone has also commissioned important infrastructure works, including yard remodelling at Narsapur–Vijayawada and Garudaballi–Visakhapatnam, expansion of Automatic Block Signalling in the Nellore–Telamanchi section, and installation of Kavach on nearly 100 locomotives, with the first 100-km Kavach section planned for commissioning by the end of this year.Passenger-centric development has gained significant momentum with the inauguration of three redeveloped Amrit Bharat Stations—Rayanapadu, Mangalagiri and Cumbum—while redevelopment works are progressing at 70 additional stations. South Coast Railway is also planning major infrastructure augmentation, including third and fourth railway lines and extensive yard remodelling at Simhachalam North and Renigunta to decongest the Visakhapatnam and Tirupati regions.To meet passenger demand, the Zone has converted four Train-on-Demand services into regular trains, operated 76 special trains carrying nearly 86,000 passengers, attached 408 additional coaches, and upgraded Simhadri Express and Guntur–Vikarabad Express from ICF to LHB coaches for enhanced passenger comfort and safety.Further enhancing passenger amenities, South Coast Railway has introduced Sleeping Pods at Vijayawada Railway Station and premium catering services through “Deccan Chai” at Visakhapatnam Railway Station.
On the security front, the Railway Protection Force has intensified its vigilance, detecting 28 NDPS cases and seizing illegal narcotic substances worth ₹2.37 crore within the first two months. Simultaneously, extensive cleanliness drives have been undertaken, particularly at Visakhapatnam Railway Station, along with action against 5,152 offenders to ensure a cleaner and more disciplined railway environment.Despite the challenges associated with railway reorganization, South Coast Railway has recorded impressive operational performance with originating passenger revenue of ₹671 crore, handling 29.4 million originating passengers, registering an annual growth of 3%, and achieving overall originating earnings of ₹2,493 crore, placing the Zone among the top-performing railway zones in the country.In line with its vision of creating a Slim and Smart Railway Headquarters, South Coast Railway adopted e-Office from the very first day of its oper