SCR close to completing Secunderabad station rebuild: GM

South Central Railway (SCR) is likely to complete the work on reconstruction of Secunderabad railway station by the end of this year, with facilities on the Bhoiguda side, including Platform 10, almost ready, said General Manager Sanjay Kumar Srivastava on Thursday.

Work on the re-development of Lingampally and Kacheguda stations will also begin soon. Three stations — Warangal, Begumpet and Karimnagar — have already been reopened after refurbishment under the Amrit Bharat Stations Development Scheme, while five more stations out of the 40 selected are nearing completion, he said.

Addressing a press conference at Rail Nilayam, Mr. Srivastava said SCR carried 286.44 million originating passengers during the 2025–26 financial year, an increase of 22 million passengers over the previous year’s 263.36 million.

He said this was achieved by operating 3,791 special trains, up from 3,495 in 2024–25. In addition, 276 extra coaches were attached to 197 trains, while 59 trains were inducted with safer and more spacious LHB coaches. Thirteen trains were also speeded up, saving 2,988 minutes of running time.

The General Manager, flanked by senior officials, said the zone delivered an “exceptional performance” across all areas, recording best-ever outcomes in several segments and earning national-level recognition.

The zone posted its highest-ever gross originating revenue of ₹21,211.92 crore, including ₹13,575 crore from freight and ₹6,235.37 crore from passenger earnings — a three per cent rise over the previous record of ₹20,569.35 crore. During the year, SCR added 194.57 km of new track, comprising new lines, doubling and tripling works, and completed 325 track km of electrification.

Automatic Block Signalling was commissioned over 479 route kilometres, far exceeding the target of 357 Rkms. The Kavach 4.0 safety system was installed over 486 route kilometres, surpassing the target of 402 Rkms. Interlocking at 12 level crossing gates and sliding booms at 18 locations were also completed.

Further, 72 road under bridges and 27 road over bridges were constructed, while 40 lifts and 25 escalators were installed. Solar power plants with a capacity of 10.74 MWp were commissioned, resulting in annual savings of ₹13.2 crore.

On the proposed South Coast Railway zone (SCoR) headquartered at Visakhapatnam, Mr. Srivastava said infrastructure works were nearing completion and systems were being tested ahead of a formal notification. The formation of the Kazipet division, he added, is decision to be taken by the Railway Board.