AP gets new rail zone.

A new railway zone with Visakhapatnam as its headquarters will be formed with Vijaywada, Guntur, and Guntakal rail divisions, besides a section of the Waltair rail division.

Union Railway Minister Piyush Goyal made the announcement in New Delhi late on Wednesday. At present, Vijayawada, Guntur and Guntakal divisions are in the South Central Railway and Waltair division is in the East Coast Railway.

The Waltair division will be bifurcated and a portion will be merged with Vijayawada division. The headquarters of the new railway zone, christened South Coast Railway Zone, will be in Vizag. The demand for Visakhapatnam railway zone after bifurcation is one of the major demands of Andhra Pradesh, which was at last conceded by the NDA government recently.

HBL