Waltair Railway Division: Starting June 1, the century-old has been reorganised into two separate divisions: Visakhapatnam and Rayagada, marking a major restructuring of railway administration in the region. The division came into existence in 1893, when it was established following the construction of the 96-km Cuttack-Khurda Road-Puri railway line, and went on to become one of Indian Railways’ oldest and most strategically important divisions.
Waltair gained prominence in 1933 as a crucial rail hub for cargo movement linked to Visakhapatnam Port. The division was managed by the Bengal Nagpur Railway (BNR) until 1952, after which it became part of the Eastern Railway (ER) and later the South Eastern Railway (SER) in 1955. Since April 1, 2003, Waltair had been under the East Coast Railway (ECoR) before being bifurcated into the Visakhapatnam and Rayagada divisions on June 1, 2026.
In a gazette notification issued on May 4, 2026, the Ministry of Railways said that the existing Waltair Division of East Coast Railway will be bifurcated in two parts from June 1. One part will remain under the existing East Coast Railway and will be renamed as the new Rayagada Division, while the remaining portion of the Waltair Division will become part of the newly created South Coast Railway (SCoR) Zone and will be renamed as the Visakhapatnam Division.
“Existing Waltair Division of East Coast Railway will be bifurcated in two parts. One part of it will be part of the existing East Coast Railway as new Rayagada division and balance part of Waltair division will be part of the new South Coast Railway to be renamed as Visakhapatnam division,” reads the statement.
According to the gazette notification, the newly formed Visakhapatnam Division under the South Coast Railway (SCoR) zone will comprise a total of 463 route kilometres (RKm). The division’s jurisdiction will cover four major railway sections and three peripheral lines, forming a key part of the operational network of the new railway zone. The sections and lines included under the division are as follows:
According to the gazette notification, the over a total of 696 Route kilometres (RKm). The division will comprise four sections: the 164-km Koraput-Singapur Road section, the 442-km Kottavalasa (excluding)-Kirandul (KK Line) section, the 36-km Kuneru (excluding)-Theruvali (excluding) section, and the 54-km Gunupur (including)-Paralakhemundi (including) section.
According to Deepak Rout, Chief Public Relations Officer, ECoR, the new Rayagada Railway Division is expected to significantly enhance train connectivity and strengthen freight infrastructure in the region. The division will serve six districts of Odisha: Rayagada, Koraput, Malkangiri, Nabarangpur, Gajapati and Kandhamal. A total of 68 railway stations will be there.
