 Rail Vikas Bhavan (Divisional Railway Manager Office) at Pattabhipuram of Guntur | |
| Overview | |
|---|---|
| Headquarters | Guntur |
| Reporting mark | GNT |
| Locale | Andhra Pradesh,India |
| Dates of operation | 1 April 2003– |
| Predecessor | Southern Railways |
| Technical | |
| Track gauge | Broad |
| Previous gauge | Metre |
| Electrification | 1989 |
| Length | 629.516 km (391.163 mi) |
| Other | |
| Website | official website |
Guntur railway division is one of the six divisions of theSouth Central Railway zone ofIndian Railways.[1] The division was sanctioned in 1995–96 and was fully operational on 1 April 2003, with its headquarters atGuntur.[2][3] TheRail Vikas Bhavan in Pattabhipuram area of Guntur, serves as the office ofDivisional Railway Manager.[4] The present divisional manager is M. Ramakrishna.[5]
TheKrishna Canal-Nandyal (KCC-NDL) stretch was a part of the important east–west coast link that connectedMargao inGoa toMasulipatnam in the erstwhileMadras Province ofBritish India. It was originally built toMetre Gauge by the Southern Mahratta Railway (later the Madras and Southern Mahratta Railway-MSMR) during 1889–90.[6] The track passed through theNallamala Hills and as a result quite a few major engineering works were undertaken in the course of the railroad construction, the most impressive of them being the massive Dorabavi Viaduct[7] and theBogada Tunnel, both of them about 30 km from Nandyal. This section was converted to Broad Gauge during 1993–95. The gauge conversion was a difficult task owing to the difficult terrain. The old alignment between Gazulapalli andDiguvametta was abandoned and a new Bogada tunnel, about 1.6 km in length and a new Dorabavi Viaduct located at a much lower altitude were constructed at a huge expense. The railway passes through the historicCumbum Tank, starting fromCumbum railway station and spread over an area of 7 km. It is one of the most picturesque valleys inGuntur-Nandyal section of South Central Railway.[8]
The Guntur-Macherla section was opened in 1930, by theMadras and Southern Mahratta Railway to serve the backward innerTelangana region. It too was originallymetre gauge and was converted to5 ft 6 in (1,676 mm)broad gauge in 1992–93.[9] This section was used for the transport of limestone, quartz &cement, primarily fromPiduguralla, popularly known as the Lime City.[10] The section from Guntur to the coastal town ofRepalle was built to the broad gauge by the Madras and Southern Railway in 1916. This line connected to the East Coast main line atTenali. The section from Tenali to Repalle was owned by Guntur District Board until 1964. The foundation stone for the 152 km longBibinagar-Nadikudi rail project that opened an alternative route toSecunderabad fromVijayawada and connected the interior of Telangana toHyderabad was laid by the then Prime Minister of India,Indira Gandhi on 7 April 1974. The project was finally finished in 1989 and the line commissioned a year later.[11]
Two major bridges to span theKrishna River andMusi are located in this section. It is used by many south/east bound trains in a bid to decongest the heavily usedWarangal-Vijayawada line. New rail lines are added in the region such asNadikudi–Srikalahasti section, part of which comes under the division. This will be an alternate route toChennai/Tirupati forGuntur City.[12][13]
The jurisdiction of the division covers the districts ofGuntur,Kurnool,Prakasam inAndhra Pradesh andYadadri Bhuvanagiri,Nalgonda inTelangana.[3] It has a total route length of 629.516 km (391.163 mi) and running track of 660.992 km (410.721 mi).[14] In Andhra Pradesh, it has a total route length of 484.78 km (301.23 mi) and in Telangana it is 144.94 km (90.06 mi).[15]
The sections and branch lines route map breakup is as follows:
| Section | Distance (in km) | Double/Single line | Traction |
|---|---|---|---|
| Guntur–Krishna Canal (excludingKrishna Canal) | 27.12 | Double | Electric |
| Guntur–Tenali (excludingTenali) | 24.27 | Double | Electric |
| Pagidipalli–Nallapadu section (excludingPagidipalli) | 243.92 | Single | Electric |
| Nallapadu–Nandyal section | 251.98 | Double & Single | Electric |
| Tenali–Repalle (excludingTenali) | 32.10 | Single | Electric |
| Nadikudi–Macherla | 35.01 | Single | Electric |
| Vishnupuram – Janpahad | 10.64 | Single | Electric |
| Other lines | |||
| Guntur –Nallapadu | 5.00 | Double | Electric |
| Guntur Byepass Line | 1.94 | Single | Electric |
| Total | 629.75 | 30.36 km of double line | 312.55 km of electrified track |
Source: SCR Railway Map 2018[16]
Under construction:
The list includes the stations under the jurisdiction of Guntur railway division and classified based on their respective category.
| Category | No. of stations | Names of stations |
|---|---|---|
| A1 Category | 1 | {{}{Gunturjunction}} |
| A Category | ||
| B Category | 2 | Nandyal Junction andNalgonda |
| C Category | 0 | — |
| D Category | 13 | Cumbum,Donakonda, Giddalur,Macherla, Markapur Road,Mangalagiri, Mirylaguda,Nadikudi,Narasaraopet,Piduguralla,Repalle,Sattenapalle,Vinukonda |
| E Category | 43 | New Guntur railway station |
| F Category | 13 | Angalakuduru, Gudimetta, Gudipudi, GURZ (station code), Krishnamsettypalle, Lingamguntla, Mamdapur, Mandapadu, Pedakakani Halt, Penumarru, Rentachintala, Vellalcheruvu Halt,Zampini |
| Non-operational | 4 | Bommaipalle, JNPD (station code), Kondrapole Halt, Nandipalli |
| Total | 75 | — |
Source:[3]
The division operates around 200 express, passenger and freight trains every day.[17] The primary commodity transported by the division iscement,clinker,food grains, besidescoal andfertilizer. Other commodities includecotton,chillies,limestone,paddy,tobacco andtimber waste.[17][18][19] In 2003, thefreight earnings were₹93 crore (US$11 million).[20] After a decade, it stands at₹452 crore (US$52 million) in 2013–14. In 2008–09, the gross revenue was₹237 crore (US$27 million), a decline in figures compared to previous fiscal of₹272 crore (US$31 million), due torecession.[21] In the fiscal year 2018–19, it registered a growth of 69% freight earnings alone.[22]
| Revenue (in million rupees) | 2019-20[22] | 2018–19[22] |
|---|---|---|
| Passenger | 1570.4 | 1499.0 |
| Freight | 1934.4 | 2675.4 |
| Sundry | 204.5 | 207.0 |
16°18′04″N80°26′36″E / 16.30111°N 80.44333°E /16.30111; 80.44333
