The Railway Board initiated a two-day exercise on Wednesday to give a final shape to the constitution of the South Coast Railway Zone with headquarters in Visakhapatnam.
Officer on Special Duty appointed for the new zone, S.S. Srinivas, had gone to New Delhi to attend the meeting. The formation of the zone, a long-pending demand, was announced just before the general elections.
The meeting was likely to take stock of criticism over bifurcation of Waltair division, one among top revenue-earners, and its merger in parts with the Vijayawada and newly created Rayagada divisions. The new zone will comprise the Vijayawada, Guntur and Guntakal divisions.
The place for functioning of temporary headquarters and later construction of permanent buildings on vacant land owned by the Railways in various parts of the city would also figure at the meeting, sources said.
The sources said at an informal meeting with the district administration, senior railway officials asked for a site near Rushikonda, preferably sea facing, for constructing the new zone office, a decision on which was yet to be taken.