PM Modi to visit Visakhapatnam to lay foundation for new railway zone

Prime Minister Narendra Modi will visit Visakhapatnam and Anakapalle on January 8, 2025, to lay the foundation for the South Coast Railway Zone.  His visit on November 29, 2024, was rescheduled due to heavy rains. 

Anakapalle Chief Minister Ramesh on Monday confirmed the Prime Minister’s visit and said that the PM will also address a public meeting during his visit. 

After years of delay, the SCOR is finally back on the track. The long-awaited project was initially promised in the Andhra Pradesh Reorganization Act of 2014 and was officially announced in 2019 by Piyush Goyal, Union Railway Minister at that time. 

Timeline of Visakhapatnam Railway Zone project

In the year 2022, a Member of Parliament from Andhra Pradesh questioned the current railway minister Ashwini Vaishnaw regarding the development of the project. He replied that funds have been allocated for the project and that the work would commence soon.

However, the project seemed like a distant dream as home Secretary of Andhra Pradesh Ajay Bhalla called the new zone a “non-feasible venture” owing to delays.

The news about the Central Government expressing its disinterest in establishing a railway zone with headquarters in Visakhapatnam spread like wildfire and saw negative reactions from politicians and the public alike. 

Rejecting all rumours, Ashwini Vaishnaw, once again assured that a new railway zone would be set up in Visakhapatnam at any cost and the railway zone also released the statement saying the same.

The Rs 107 crore worth South Coastal Railway Zone project was launched by Prime Minister Modi during his Visakhapatnam visit on 12 November 2022. 

Fast forward to two years, in July 2024, the failure of land acquisition was quoted as reason for the delay of the project.

Finally, in August 2024, CM Chandrababu Naidu informed CPI leaders that state handed over land sought by Indian Railways for the establishment of SCOR headquarters. A 52.2-acre site in Mudarsarlova was chosen as the land for headquarters due to its connectivity.

In October 2024, Bhoomi puja was conducted to kickstart the work and the Indian Railways opened bids for the project at the end of the November. 

Now, with PM Narendra Modi visiting Visakhapatnam to lay the foundation stone, the long-awaited dream is set to become reality soon. 

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