South Central Railway (SCR) was formed on 02.10.1966 by merging the Hubli and Vijayawada Divisions of Southern Railway with the Sholapur and Secunderabad Divisions of Central Railway into a new railway zone. Subsequently, on 02.10.1977, the Guntakal Division of Southern Railway was merged with SCR, while the Sholapur Division was transferred back to Central Railway. On 17.02.1978, the Secunderabad Division was bifurcated into two divisions: Secunderabad and Hyderabad. As part of the reorganization of Railway Zones and Divisions with effect from 01.04.2003, two new divisions - Guntur & Nanded - were operationalized, while the Hubli Division was transferred to the newly formed South Western Railway.

Further, with the operationalization of South Coast Railway with effect from 01.06.2026, the Vijayawada, Guntakal, and Guntur Divisions were carved out from SCR. Consequently, the present South Central Railway comprises three divisions: Secunderabad, Hyderabad, and Nanded.