HYDERABAD: For South Central Railway (SCR), Independence Day offered a chance to look at a year of change across its network — from faster freight movement and renewed tracks to new trains, expanded solar power and upgraded safety systems.
Addressing the 80th Independence Day celebrations at the Railway Sports Complex Ground in Secunderabad, SCR general manager Sanjay Kumar Srivastava said the zone recorded Rs 4,060.57 crore in gross originating revenue in the first four months of the financial year. Freight contributed Rs 2,640.80 crore, while passenger services brought in Rs 1,236.88 crore, with freight loading reaching 30.593 million tonnes.
Under Mission RAFTAR, open wagons can now run at speeds of up to 100 kmph. Safety work also gathered pace, with 135.22 km of track renewed and 20 road underbridges completed.
Several infrastructure projects were completed, including the tripling of the Asifabad-Sirpur Kaghaznagar section, the doubling between Manyamkonda and Mahabubnagar, the Lallaguda-Sitafalmandi A Cabin chord line, and the gauge conversion between Amlakhurd and Tukaithad.
For passengers, SCR introduced four pairs of new trains and made 31 pairs of special trains permanent. It also ran 75 special trains and added 652 coaches to existing services during the financial year.
The zone’s push towards greener operations also continued, with solar capacity rising to 13.34 MWp. SCR was additionally recognised with the National S&T Award for Best Zonal Railway for its contribution to Kavach and digital interlocking. Under Mission Zero Scrap, it generated revenue 30% above the Railway Board’s target.
