BHUBANESWAR: The newly-created Rayagada Railway Division of the East Coast Railway (ECoR) commenced operations on Monday. The division is headed by IRSEE officer Amitabh Singhal.
ECoR officials said during his long railway career, Singhal has been associated with several landmark rolling stock initiatives, including the Vande Bharat Express project. He will lead the new division with the support of officers and railway staff in strengthening operations, infrastructure development and service delivery across the region.
The Ministry of Railways had formally notified the creation of Rayagada Railway Division under ECoR zone in the first week of May. With this development, ECoR now has three divisions - Khurda Road, Sambalpur and Rayagada.
The Waltair division, which was earlier part of ECoR, was bifurcated into two parts of which one part became the new Rayagada division while the other part was renamed as the Visakhapatnam division under the newly-formed South Coast Railway (SCoR) zone, which was also notified at the same time.
The jurisdiction of the Rayagada division includes the 164 km Koraput-Singapur Road section, the 442 km Kottavalasa-Kirandul (KK) line section, the 36 km Kuneru-Theruvali section and the 54 km Gunupur-Paralakhemundi section. The total jurisdiction of the division is around 696 km, sources said.
ECoR officials said with the operationalisation of the Rayagada division, all designated administrative, operational and technical functions have been formally taken over by the new divisional setup. Train Control offices, control boards and associated operational monitoring systems have become functional, enabling independent control and regulation of train operations within the division’s jurisdiction. The transfer of operational, technical and administrative responsibilities from the parent divisions has also been completed.
Located in a key mineral-rich, industrial and tribal region of the country, the division is expected to play a vital role in strengthening freight transportation, improving connectivity and accelerating the execution of railway infrastructure projects across its jurisdiction, an official said.