SCR to shrink to 3,600 Rkm post zone rejig from June 1

Hyderabad: From June 1, Indian Railways will formally implement separate zones for Telangana and Andhra Pradesh, nearly 12 years after the bifurcation of the erstwhile united state.With the formal rollout of the new arrangement next week, the existing South Central Railway (SCR) will be significantly downsized, while the newly created South Coast Railway (SCoR) will function as Andhra Pradesh’s railway zone. The restructuring will reduce SCR from six divisions to three — Hyderabad, Secunderabad and Nanded — significantly altering the operational structure of one of Indian Railways’ key zones.Under the reorganisation, SCR’s railway network will shrink to around 3,600 route kilometres (rkm), and the zone is also expected to lose nearly 40% of its revenue to SCoR. As part of the transition, around 1,000 gazetted and non-gazetted railway employees have been transferred from SCR to the new zone.The Secunderabad division, already among the busiest railway divisions in the country, is expected to witness a further increase in operational workload after the reorganisation. The addition of new sections is likely to increase train movement, maintenance responsibilities and administrative pressure on the division, which already handles heavy passenger and freight traffic daily.“The Secunderabad division at present has a network of 1,616 rkm. Another 250 rkm will be added with the inclusion of the Raichur-Wadi section in Karnataka and the Vishnupuram and Pagidipalli sections. However, there will be no changes in the jurisdiction of Hyderabad and Pagidipalli, which will continue under SCR,” a senior SCR official said.Railway officials said SCR’s freight revenue, presently estimated at around ₹13,000 crore, is projected to decline to between ₹7,000 crore and ₹8,000 crore over the coming years. Allocation of new railway projects, additional lines and train services is generally based on the revenue performance of individual railway zones.While Telangana contributes significantly through freight earnings generated by the coal and cement industries, the newly established South Coast Railway is expected to gain a major advantage because of the presence of key ports at Krishnapatnam, Kakinada and Visakhapatnam. These ports handle large-scale loading and unloading of steel raw materials, fertilisers, food grains, iron ore and other commodities.Apart from freight operations, passenger revenue is also likely to be affected. SCR recorded passenger revenue of ₹6,235 crore during the 2025–26 financial year, as of March 31, 2026. Following the division of the zones, passenger ticket revenue will be shared between SCR and South Coast Railway.