The proposal to de-link the KK line and KR line from Waltair Division, while creating the new railway zone, and apportioning them to East Coast Railway would be opposed tooth and nail, said Uttarandhra Rakshana Vedika (URV) president S.S. Shiva Sankar.
No existing railway Division was bifurcated at the time of creating new zones in the past. Waltair Division, which is among the top five revenue earning divisions in the country, if bifurcated, would make the new zone financially unviable. The MPs from Andhra Pradesh should exert pressure on the Railway Ministry to prevent further split of Waltair Division, he told a media conference here on Tuesday.
The jurisdiction of Waltair Division extends over 1,105 route km. covering AP, Odisha and Chhattisgarh States. The four main arteries of the Division are: Duvvada-Visakhapatnam-Palasa – 213 RKM, Vizianagaram-Singapur Road – 137 RKM, Kottavalasa-Kirandul (KK Line) 446 RKM, Koraput-Rayagada – 164 RKM, Kottavalasa-Simahachalam – 22 RKM, Bobbili-Salur 18 RKM, miscellaneous Goods routes – 37 km. and Naupada – Gunupur – 91 km. (total 1105 km).
Mr. Shiva Sankar said that Waltair Division poses a great heritage being an old Division, which has over 700 acres of railway land, various railway establishments like the largest Diesel Loco Shed in Indian Railways and an Electric Loco Shed. KK line and KR lines are the major earning lines in the Division as they carry freight for various industries.
The KK line, which comes under a single section, would pose operational problems, if bifurcated. The control of two different zonal railways on a single section would also result in administrative problems, he added.
Replying to a query, he said that a memorandum was being sent to the Railway Minister not to allow bifurcation of Waltair Division.
