Hopes of Kazipet railway division revive

Warangal: With the Central government announcing the formation of South Coast Railway (SCoR) with its headquarters at Visakhapatnam, theories started to sprout supporting a new railway division at Kazipet. Although the demand for establishing Kazipet Railway Division is there for a long time, the Centre had never looked upon it positively.

Kazipet has always been wryly observed as, ‘Always the bridesmaid, never the bride’, as far as railways is concerned. It looked certain to get a coach factory but the proposal that dates to 1982 never got off the blocks. Later, it was established at Kapurtala in Punjab. 

Thereafter, there was a new lease of life for the proposal in the Railway Budget of 2010-11 when the then Minister for Railways Mamata Banerjee sanctioned a wagon factory on a public-private partnership and released Rs 15 crore. Although the State government had earmarked 54 acres, the South Central Railway (SCR) didn’t take its possession on the pretext of legal disputes and 
encroachments.

Later, the railways shelved the idea stating that the three existing coach factories in the country are sufficient to meet its needs. Against this backdrop, the proposal for setting up of a periodical over-hauling (POH) workshop with an outlay of Rs 269 crore came to fore in 2016. Facing land acquisition problems, the POH is yet to make headway. Moreover, the POH is in danger of fizzling out at the proposal stage itself with inordinate delay in land acquisition. 

Now with the Centre resolving to carve out SCoR zone comprising of existing Guntakal, Guntur and Vijayawada divisions, the proposal for creating a new railway division in the SCR Kazipet as its headquarters has also come forward. The bifurcation of SCoR means the SCR is left with just three divisions - Secunderabad, Hyderabad and Nanded – thus giving a scope for the creation of Kazipet division. 

It’s learnt that there is a requirement that each zone should have four divisions. It also favours Kazipet to be upgraded into a division.As of now, the Kazipet sub-division has about 600 kilometers railway line. Infrastructure-wise,Kazipet has electric and diesel loco sheds and an engineering department.Speaking to The Hans India, SCR Mazdoor Union Secunderabad divisional secretary Pillalamarri Ravinder said: “Strategically located, Kazipet has all the ingredients to become a railway division. 

Revenue-wise also, Kazipet is top among others. The Mazdoor Union has been trying its best to exert pressure on the Centre to make it happen.”The onus is on the MPs to echo their voice before the Ministry of Railways so that only the desired results would be achieved, he said.