The YSRCP in Andhra Pradesh on Wednesday said that the Waltair railway division must continue and argued against its division in the Parliament.
Speaking in the Rajya Sabha, YSRCP MP Vijayasai Reddy said that the move would be a "blunder, logically and sentimentally, for the people of Andhra Pradesh."
"The Centre, instead of deciding to let the division flourish, has decided to dismantle the division, which is the fifth highest revenue generating division in India," he said.
"The move would cause irreparable loss and create unwarranted and unnecessary problems which can be easily avoided," he added.
"In Visakhapatnam, a full fledged division already exists with container terminal, loco sheds, wagon workshops and staff quarters among other facilities. Continuing Waltair division would not cost railways anything. Shifting of divisional headquarters would lead to unnecessary expenditure on infrastructure," the YSRCP General Secretary argued.
He also said that there was no precedent where a 125-year-old division would be dismantled.
Earlier this year, the Centre announced a new railway zone, as committed by it, under the Andhra Pradesh Reorganisation Act 2014. The new zone had been named South Coast Railway (SCoR) and comprises Guntakal, Guntur and Vijayawada divisions.
At the time, the Centre announced that the Waltair division will be split into two -- one to be incorporated in the new zone by merging it with the neighbouring Vijayawada division, and the other to be converted into a new division with headquarters at Rayagada under East Coast Railway (ECoR).
Critics of the move have argued that a major part of the revenue would be diverted to the newly formed Rayagada division as a majority of the area, including Vizianagaram and Srikakulam districts of Andhra Pradesh, were merged with it.
The Waltair division netted Rs 7,053.12 crore in revenue, including Rs 6,515.38 crore from freight and Rs 536.73 crore from passenger traffic, in 2017-18.