VIJAYAWADA: Union government has notified the creation of a new zonal railway, South Coast Railway, with headquarters at Visakhapatnam, effective June 1, 2026. The new zone has been carved out of the existing East Coast Railway (ECoR) and South Central Railway (SCR)zones under sub-section (4) of Section 3 of the Railways Act, 1989.
The notification also constitutes a new Rayagada division under East Coast Railway from the same date.
As per the reorganisation, South Coast Railway will comprise the existing Guntakal, Guntur and Vijayawada divisions of South Central Railway and a truncated Waltair division of East Coast Railway, which will be renamed Visakhapatnam division.
East Coast Railway, with headquarters at Bhubaneswar, will retain Sambalpur division, the reorganised Khurda Road division and the newly formed Rayagada division. South Central Railway, headquartered at Secunderabad, will have the existing Hyderabad and Nanded divisions along with a reorganised Secunderabad division.
The existing Waltair division of East Coast Railway will be bifurcated. One part will form the new Rayagada division under ECoR and the remaining portion will be part of SCoR as Visakhapatnam division.
Further, keeping in view operational requirements, the Central Government has also adjusted the jurisdictions of Guntur, Guntakal and Vijayawada divisions of South Coast Railway and Secunderabad division of South Central Railway with transfer of sections, effective June 1, 2026.
The jurisdiction of Khurda Road division of ECoR and Visakhapatnam division of SCoR also been adjusted. The divisional boundaries between the affected divisions of South Coast Railway, East Coast Railway and SCR will stand revised from June 1, 2026.