Union Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw said on Monday (February 2) that the construction of the South Coast Railway (SCoR) zone will begin soon. Talking to the media about the budget allocation and the status of the projects being taken up in Andhra Pradesh, the minister said that the Indian Railways is expediting work on the new zone based at Visakhapatnam.
Mr. Vaishnaw said he would brief Union Civil Aviation Minister K. Rammohan Naidu about the status of the SCoR zone.
He said that ₹10,134 crore has been allocated for railway projects in Andhra Pradesh. A detailed project report will be prepared for the Hyderabad-Chennai High Speed Rail Corridor and the project would be a game changer for Andhra Pradesh, the minister said.
“Various projects worth ₹92,649 crore are underway in AP and the railway network in the state is 100% electrified,” said Mr. Ashwini Vaishnaw.
Vijayawada Divisional Railway Manager (DRM) Mohit Sonakiya said work on the Errupalem-Nambur and Kotipalli-Narsapur lines was progressing.
“Of the total 73 stations being redeveloped under Amrit Bharat stations in SCR zone, 21 are in AP One high-speed train will pass through Vijayawada and the bullet train is likely to stop at AP Capital,” DRM said.
Mr. Sonakiya said that ₹1.20 crore has been sanctioned for railway security and CCTV cameras have already been installed on some coaches.
Additional DRMs Konda Srinivas Rao and PE Edwin, Senior Divisional Engineer (Coordination) B. Surya Prakash, Senior Divisional Business Manager B. Prasantha Kumar, Senior Divisional Operations Manager Dinesh, Senior Divisional Security Commissioner Shanmuga Vadivel and other officers were present.
Published – 03 Feb 2026 10:14 IST
