No Plans To Close Historic Waltair Railway Division

Visakhapatnam: It is no longer RIP for the iconic Waltair railway division. Buckling under pressure, the Central Government has decided to accede to the overwhelming demand to retain the Waltair division, a major revenue-earner in the Railways in the South Coast Railway (SCoR) Zone with headquarters in Visakhapatnam.

At the time of announcing the SCoR Zone in 2019, the Railway Ministry had announced the formation of the new zone comprising Vijayawada, Guntur, Guntakal and newly created Rayagada division by merging parts of the Waltair division in Rayagada and Vijayawada divisions. As the Waltair division had a rich history with its formation dating back to 1893, the decision to wind it up had evoked strong protests from the locals as well as political parties.

Waltair division during 2023-24 had handled 75 million tonnes of freight with a total revenue of Rs.10,000 crore. Major revenue was earned through ferrying iron ore from NMDC mines in Bastar district via Jeyport, Araku Valley to Visakhapatnam. Waltair division was set up with the construction of Cuttack-Khurda Road and Purin line. At the time notifying the formation of the new zone, the Railways said "the Waltair division shall be merged by bifurcating with the neighbouring Vijayawada division and the newly-created Rayagada division."

At present, Waltair division and the proposed Rayagada division are part of the East Coast Railway (ECoR) with headquarters in Bhubaneswar. While deciding to retain the existence of the Waltair division, it has been decided to make Kothavalasa-Kirandul railway section, considered the lifeline for ECoR as it transports heavy loads of iron ore from Baildilla mines in Chattisgarh. For further transportation to various destinations by train and through Visakhapatnam Port and Gangavaram Port, part of Rayagada division.

While Prime Minister Narenda Modi is scheduled to lay the foundation stone for the zone here on January 8, the stone for the Rayagada division in Odisha will be laid later. TDP, which has become a key partner in the NDA, had raised strong objections to the decision to wind up the Waltair division.

Railway Zone Sadhana Committee convener JV Satyanarayana Murthy reiterated his demand for immediate operationalisation of the zone by upgrading the Divisional Railway Manager (DRM)'s office into the General Manager pending completion of the construction of buildings for the headquarters at Mudasarlova in next two years.

The Rayagada division project is valued at Rs107 crore. "This significant project will include several key components aimed at enhancing the region's railway infrastructure," a railway spokesman said.