About Visakhapatnam
Visakhapatnam railway station, better known as Vizag railway station (station code VSKP), is the main station of Visakhapatnam, Andhra Pradesh's largest city and a major port. It is the headquarters station of the South Coast Railway zone and the Visakhapatnam division, and is graded NSG-1. It is the highest revenue-earning station in Andhra Pradesh. Over 2021–24 it ranked 17th among India's highest-earning stations, with about ₹564 crore. Around 250 trains pass through every day.
How Visakhapatnam began
The station opened on 7 October 1896 under the name Waltair, as part of the coastal railway built between 1893 and 1896, about 1,287 km of track from Cuttack to Vijayawada. The Bengal Nagpur Railway's line to Cuttack opened on 1 January 1899.
- 1987: renamed Visakhapatnam. The old name lived on for decades in the Waltair division.
- 2017: the station is rebuilt.
- May 2017: named the cleanest railway station in India by the Quality Council of India.
- September 2020: awarded a platinum rating by the Indian Green Building Council (IGBC) for environmental performance.
Platforms and expansion
VSKP has 8 platforms on 10 tracks, with 6 more platforms under construction, which will take it to 14. The station area covers about 103,178 square metres. Facilities include escalators, ramps to every platform, Wi-Fi, a children's fun zone and reservation counters at both the east and west terminals.
Loco sheds
Visakhapatnam is a major locomotive base. Its diesel loco shed is the largest in Indian Railways, with capacity for 300 diesel locomotives, and its electric loco shed can hold 297 locomotives.
Lines and the Araku Valley
- Howrah–Chennai main line along the east coast
- Khurda Road–Visakhapatnam section towards Odisha
- Visakhapatnam–Kirandul line, which climbs through the Eastern Ghats to Araku Valley through tunnels and over bridges. It is one of the most scenic train journeys in South India, and trains on this route carry Vistadome coaches with large windows.
Who calls at Visakhapatnam
Visakhapatnam has a Vande Bharat Express to Secunderabad and the long-running Godavari Express to Hyderabad. More than 18 trains connect the city with Secunderabad alone, carrying over 5,000 people a day. Many long-distance trains halt here for 20 minutes or more. Secunderabad Vande Bharat, Godavari Express and Araku-line timings are on our train schedule page.
Travel tips
- For Araku, book Vistadome seats early, especially for weekends and winter.
- Use the east or west terminal depending on your platform; both have reservation counters.