Vizag Railway Zone to become a reality soon

As the NDA government at the centre managed to retain power for the third consecutive term only with the support of 16 TDP and Janasena MPs from Andhra Pradesh, Chief Minister Chandrababu Naidu is skilfully making negotiations with the Narendra Modi’s cabinet to reap benefits for the development of the state.

Among many other key promises, creation of a Railway Zone with Visakhapatnam as the headquarters is one of the long-cherished dreams for the people of our state. Though the central government promised to fulfill the promise of Railway Zone long back, it has not been realised so far due to various administrative delays also because of the lethargic approach of the previous government.

It has already been revealed that YS Jagan Mohan Reddy’s government didn’t allot the required land for Indian Railways and also failed to put pressure on the center to construct the Zone in Vizag. However, the works relating to creation of Zone made a headway with the change of guard in the state as Chandrababu Naidu returned to power after the recent assembly elections.

Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnav clarified on Monday during his press meet that Vizag Railway Zone will soon turn into a reality as the state and central governments have already started taking steps in the right direction to achieve this goal. He stated that the present government is giving top priority and support to set up the zone very soon.

Creation of a zone at any particular place will give way for adequate job opportunities for individuals along with indirect employment to many others in the ancillary and associated sectors. Also, the zone creation has direct impact on employment opportunities. At present the people of Vizag, Vizianagaram and Srikakulam have to attend at Bhubaneswar (headquarters of the zone) for any railway jobs (RRB).

More trains would originate from different parts of the state if a new railway zone is created. This includes the introduction of Vande Bharat , Rajdhanis, Shatabdis, Jan Shatabdis, Humsafars etc.Suburban railway systems in Visakhapatnam, Vijayawada and other cities on the lines of MMTS in Hyderabad can be introduced.