Railway families face uncertainty after bifurcation of Waltair Division

Families of railway staff who previously belonged to the unified Waltair Division under East Coast Railway (ECoR) are facing uncertainty over their future living arrangements following the division’s bifurcation.

Family members gathered on various occasions, including recently at the DRM office of the Visakhapatnam Railway Division (VRD), to highlight their difficulties. They said that the sudden administrative separation had disrupted their daily lives and caused severe financial and emotional distress.

Many employees now posted in the newly created Rayagada Division have families settled in Visakhapatnam, Vizianagaram and Srikakulam. Their children are enrolled in schools, while elderly parents depend on continuing medical treatment.

Families said that managing households across different locations had caused financial hardship and mental agony. Employees had accepted distant postings with the expectation that accumulated seniority would eventually enable them to return home. They now fear that this possibility may be affected by frozen transfer mechanisms.

The situation followed the operationalisation of the South Coast Railway zone on June 1, 2026, which resulted in the restructuring of the erstwhile Waltair Division. The Visakhapatnam Division was placed under South Coast Railway with roughly 10,000 employees, while the Rayagada Division was formed under ECoR with around 8,000 employees.

Until May 31, 2026, all 18,000 personnel were part of a single combined seniority list managed from Visakhapatnam. The separation of cadres without clear rules for inter-divisional transfers or seniority protection has caused concern among loco pilots, maintenance crews and other railway workers over their career progression and long-term postings.

Visakhapatnam Divisional Railway Users Consultative Committee member and former union leader Chalasani Gandhi urged the Railway Board to intervene. He also called for official option forms, a Joint Procedure Order (JPO) for transparent transfer guidelines and divisional help desks for employee grievances.

Mr. Gandhi said representations had been submitted by the South Coast Railway Mazdoor Union and the All India Railwaymen’s Federation.

Visakhapatnam DRM Lalit Bohra said, “The issue at the Railway Board. No comment from my side.”

Employees and union representatives warned of peaceful democratic protests if clear orders on seniority protection and transfer options are not issued soon.