With SCoR carved out from SCR, the latter now operates primarily in Telangana’s Secunderabad and Hyderabad divisions, along with Nanded in Maharashtra.
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The restructuring is projected to cut SCR’s revenue by 50%.
Freight earnings, which currently stand at Rs 10,000 crore, are expected to drop to Rs 5,000 – Rs 6,000 crore in the coming years. Additionally, its network coverage will shrink from 6,600 route km to 3,500 km. In fact, the network and revenue determines the allocation of additional projects, new lines and trains.
“Telangana contributes to freight revenue through its coal and cement industries, but the new SCoR, with its ports at Krishnapatnam, Kakinada, and Vizag, will dominate due to high-volume loading and unloading of raw materials like steel, fertilisers, food grains, and iron ore,” said a senior railway official.
Apart from freight earnings, passenger revenue is also expected to take a hit. High-occupancy superfast express trains such as Goutami, Padmavati, Godavari, Garib Rath, Simhapuri, and Narayanadri, along with several intercity services between the two Telugu-speaking states, generate substantial earnings. Special trains from Hyderabad to Andhra Pradesh during festivals further boost revenue. As of Dec 2024, SCR recorded Rs 4,268 crore in passenger earnings for FY 2024-25. Now, both zones must share ticket revenue, with discussions set to take place between general managers of both SCR and SCoR.
“Previously, the major trunk route beginning at Gudur in Andhra Pradesh and extending to Nagpur spanned around 700 km within a crucial railway corridor of SCR. Now, nearly 400 km of this will come under the jurisdiction of SCoR. The management of special trains, earlier under the control of SCR, will now be jointly handled by both the zones. Additionally, many staff members from Rail Nilayam, Sanchalan Bhavan, and other departments in Secunderabad will be reassigned to SCoR, which is headquartered in Visakhapatnam,” a senior railway official stated.
