With a passenger footfall of 2,77,2,8511 and total earnings of ₹5543186039, Visakhapatnam junction, is followed by Bhubaneswar railway station (Khurda Division).
| Photo Credit: File photo: V. RAJU
The Waltair Division has scripted a new history by surpassing the 75-million tonne mark in loading and exceeding ₹10,000 crore in revenue earnings, as on March 31, 2024. It emerged as the fifth highest revenue earning division and the sixth highest freight loading division in Indian Railways.
The jurisdiction of the Waltair Division, which has its headquarters in Visakhapatnam, extends over Andhra Pradesh, Odisha and Chhattisgarh States. Visakhapatnam Junction, presently under East Coast Railway (E Co R) Zone, has retained its number one position for the third consecutive year, among the top 20 railway stations in E Co R, during the financial year 2023-24, which concluded on March 31, 2024.
With a passenger footfall of 2,77,2,8511 and total earnings of ₹5543186039, Visakhapatnam junction, is followed by Bhubaneswar railway station (Khurda Division).
Visakhapatnam Railway Station has been certified 4 Star rated ‘Eat Right Station’ for providing quality and nutritious food to passengers, in line with the FSSAI guidelines. It is the 7th railway station in the country and the first station in Andhra Pradesh to get this certificate.
As many as 15 stations across the division have been chosen for development under the Amrit Bharat Station(ABS) scheme. These stations are Araku, Bobbili, Chipurupalli, Duvvada, Kottavalasa, Naupada, Parvathipuram, Simhachalam, Srikakulam, and Vizianagaram in Andhra Pradesh, along with Jagdalpur in Chhattisgarh, and Damanjodi, Jeypore, Koraput, and Paralakhemundi in Odisha.
The development works in progress include provision of 39 lifts, additional platform shelters at 17 stations and 12 m width end-to-end new footover bridges (FOBs) at 15 stations are in progress. Raising the platform height and extension projects are also under way at 35 stations. The division has the record of completing 37 limited height subways in the last two years, with 15 more in the pipeline.
The Division introduced three new Vande Bharat Express trains this year: Visakhapatnam-Secunderabad, Visakhapatnam-Bhubaneswar, and Visakhapatnam-Durg. These are in addition to the Vande Bharat Express, which is running with very good patronage between Visakhapatnam and Secunderabad since January, 2023.
Additional LHB Vistadome coaches and 3AC Economy coaches were introduced for Visakhapatnam-Kirandul Passenger trains to enable tourists to enjoy the scenic beauty of the hills and valleys on the way to Araku. A total of 23 originating trains of Waltair Division have been converted to LHB coaches for a safe and comfortable ride.
General coaches were added to boost unreserved travel and improve accessibility for economically weaker sections of society. Since June 2024, 39 general coaches have been added to 22 rakes of 13 Visakhapatnam-originating trains, and 72 coaches were attached to 43 rakes of East Coast Railway-operated trains.
Doubling works on the Kottavalasa-Koraput, Koraput-Kirandul, and Koraput-Rayagada lines are progressing rapidly, with over 350 km of new double line commissioned by November-2024.
The Railway Board has sanctioned some key projects to address congestion and improve traffic flow in Visakhapatnam and Rayagada areas. They include: Visakhapatnam-Gopalapatnam 3rd and 4th line (15.31 km), a flyover between Pendurthi and Simhachalam North to avoid surface crossing at Simhachalam (7.14 km), Duvvada-Simhanchalam North 3rd and 4th line (20.54 km), Vadlapudi-Gate Junction 3rd & 4th line, including a tie line between Gangavaram Port and Visakhapatnam Steel Plant (12.04 km) and a rail flyover bypassing upstream traffic from the Raipur-Vizianagaram line(5.50 km).
A Divisional Committee Meeting comprising 39 Members of Parliament, from the States in the jurisdiction of Waltair Division, was held in Visakhapatnam on 23rd September 2024 to focus on further development on passenger amenities.
Waltair Division actively promotes sports and hosted All India Inter-Railway 78th Men and 17th Women Boxing Championship 2024 in Visakhapatnam from 24th to 27th September, with 12 teams participating from various zonal railways.
Adding feather to the cap, East Coast Railway has been chosen the prestigious Electrical Engineering efficiency Shield, for the year 2024 by the Ministry of Railways. Waltair, which is presently a constituent division of ECoR, its contribution in the field of energy conservation is immense with the adoption of various measures like drawing electricity from 2.6 MWp Roof Top Solar plants, maintaining power factor correction to the near Unity and regenerating back to the system due to better driving techniques of electric locomotives on ghat sections.
Waltair Division has bagged 5 numbers of efficiency shields at Zonal level for its all round performance in the field of Electrical, Signal & Telecom, shared Shields with Khurda Road Division in Operating and Survey & Construction.
The long-pending demands of the people of Visakhapatnam region include: introduction of an originating direct daily train to Bengaluru, construction of additional platforms on the Gnanapuram-side of Visakhapatnam junction, and operation of MEMU trains for the convenience of commuters coming from Srikakulam, Vizianagaram, and from Kakinada and Rajahmundry to Visakhapatnam city.
Published – December 24, 2024 12:59 am IST