Mumbai’s busiest railway station, The Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus(CST), originally known as Victoria Terminus (VT), is located in Fort, Mumbai. It is a sensational example of Victorian Gothic Revival architecture in India, blended with Indian traditional architectural theme. There is a lot more to be shared about this amazing UNESCO World Heritage Site. So here are some interesting facts about The Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus which will excite you to visit this beautiful monumental site.
To start with, let’s talk about some obvious and prominent, but intriguing facts about The Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus.
- CST is the first ever railway station in India , formerly built as the Victoria Terminus Railway Station, named after the then reigning queen , and has been subsequently renamed as ‘Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus’ in the honour of the great Maratha king Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj.
- Presently, there are 18 platforms in CST. Out of these 18 platforms, 7 are used for local trains and 11 for long distance trains.
- The first historic passenger train in India was operated from Bori Bunder to Thane covering a distance of 34 km, giving birth to Indian railways on April 16, 1853. The station is now home to the Central Railway Headquarters.
- CST was built to monumentalize The Golden Jubilee of Queen Victoria, and hence was named after her. It was beautifully designed by Frederick William Stevens.
- The station was renamed from ‘ VICTORIA TERMINUS’ to ‘CHHATRAPATI SHIVAJI TERMINUS’ in 1996, by the then Minister of Railways, Suresh Kalmadi, to pay respect to Chhatrapatti Shivaji Maharaj, the founder of the Maratha Empire.
Talking about some of the lesser known interesting facts about The Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus, the following are really exhilarating.
- The station has been a center of attention for numerous Hindi movies and the Oscar winning movie “Slumdog Millionaire”.
- Previously, in the 1850s, the Bori Bunder railway station, built in the bori bunder area (the site where CST now stands) along the eastern shore of Mumbai was originally used as a storehouse for the goods imported and exported to and from Mumbai.
- Did you know? There is a reason why the station was called Bori Bunder. Bori, which means sack in hindi and Bunder means port in Persian come together to give CST its initial name, Bori Bunder – a place where sacks are stored.
- The iconic train station took a decade to complete, from 1878 to 1888, with a cost of 16 lakh rupees. Then, on 2nd July 2004, it was nominated as a world heritage site by UNESCO.
- On 26 November 2008, The Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus was attacked by the two Pakistani terrorists Ajmal Kasab and Ismail Khan for opening fire. They killed 58 people and injured 104 others.
- There are facilities of dormitories at CST, having 20 beds for women and 58 beds for men. These dorms were inaugurated by the Ministry of Railways, Government of India on April 16, 2013 to make your stay comfortable and reasonable.
- This alluring monument is “C” shaped and is symmetrical on the east-west axis. There is a dome in the middle which acts as a centerpiece around which the structure has been constructed.
- The interiors are embellished and the ceilings are kept high, which gives it the look of a cathedral. This also makes the place very spacious so that the people don’t feel suffocated.
- Did you know about the “Statue of Progress” located in Mumbai? It is a 16.5’ structure of a female figure with a star above her head , holding a flamed torch up in the sky in her right hand and a wheel in left symbolizing “progress”. This marble made beautiful structure crowns the CST station .
- The booking office at CST is known as the Star Chamber because of the highly artistic work done by the students at J.J. School of Arts, Mumbai. It is built with some of the finest Italian marbles and Indian blue stones, again showing the beautiful blend of the cultures.
- CST has beautiful and decorative ironwork along with stunning structural steel elements. One of the most impressive and prominent feature of this structure is the metalwork executed , that can be found on the main railway entrance.
To conclude, the CST, formerly known as Victoria Terminus, has stood its ground for more than a 100 years proving itself as an architectural heritage for not just India but the whole wide World. Hence, UNESCO deemed fit for it to be considered a World Heritage Site.