KTR urges Centre to create Kazipet railway division

HYDERABAD

Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) working president K.T. Rama Rao has written to Union Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw urging the immediate creation of a new railway division with its headquarters at Kazipet in Telangana.

In the letter shared with the media, Mr. Rama Rao drew attention to the ongoing restructuring of the South Central Railway and the operationalisation of the South Coast Railway (ScoR), which, he said, has placed an excessive administrative and operational burden on the Secunderabad division.

The Secunderabad division currently manages about 2,755 track kilometres and this is expected to increase to nearly 3,150 track kilometres with the addition of the Wadi – Raichur and Vishnupuram –Bibinagar double-line sections.

This far exceeds the optimal administrative span observed in most railway divisions across the country. Comparing Secunderabad with other divisions, KTR pointed out that Vijayawada and Guntakal divisions handle around 2,200 track kilometres each, while the Guntur division manages less than 900 kilometres.

Describing the creation of a Kazipet division as both “logical and necessary,” the BRS leader proposed that it encompasses key rail sections such as Kazipet – Balharshah, Peddapalli – Nizamabad, Kazipet – Yerrupalem, Dornakal – Manuguru and Sathupalli, Motumari – Vishnupuram, and Kazipet – Wangapalli. Together, these sections would form a coherent, high-density network spanning approximately 1,500 to 2,000 track kilometres — well within established divisional norms.

He also urged the Railways to withdraw the proposed transfer of the Peddapalli–Nizamabad section to the Hyderabad division and instead assign it to the proposed Kazipet division, citing geographical proximity and operational continuity. Similarly, he sought a review of the plan to shift the Latur Road–Parli Vaijnath section to the Nanded division.

Mr. Rama Rao highlighted Kazipet’s strategic location at the intersection of major trunk routes, with tripling towards Balharshah and Vijayawada already completed, and quadrupling up to Secunderabad and Kazipet. He said the corridor has high revenue potential due to strong freight traffic from cement, fertiliser, foodgrain and power sector units.

The upcoming railway manufacturing unit at Kazipet, along with proposed rolling overhaul and locomotive maintenance facilities at Mahabubabad, further strengthens the case for establishing a new division, he added.