The Minister for Railways, Ashwini Vaishnaw, announced that the gazette notification for the South Coast Railway Zone (SCoR) will be issued soon, with operations expected to commence on June 1, 2026. This new zone, headquartered in Visakhapatnam, Andhra Pradesh, will be the 18th zone of Indian Railways and is a significant step in strengthening railway administration in the state. The foundation for SCoR was laid in the Andhra Pradesh Reorganisation Act of 2014, which established Telangana, leading to demands for a separate railway zone in Andhra Pradesh. The Union Cabinet approved the zone on February 7, 2025. SCoR will cover major parts of Andhra Pradesh, along with sections of Telangana, Tamil Nadu, and Karnataka, and is divided into four divisions: Guntakal, Guntur, Vijayawada, and Visakhapatnam. The zone is expected to facilitate freight transport, connecting mineral-rich areas to important ports like Visakhapatnam. However, it faces opposition from Odisha's political parties, concerned about revenue losses from the East Coast Railway (ECoR) due to the transfer of certain railway sections. Despite this, the Railway Board maintains that the transferred sections do not significantly impact freight operations.