Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus

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Image:SV400638.JPG Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus (formerly Victoria Terminus), better known by its acronym CST, is a historic railway station of the Mumbai suburban railway. It serves as the headquarters of the Central Railways in India and is is one of the busiest railway stations in India. On July 2, 2004 the station was nominated a World Heritage Site by the World Heritage Committee of UNESCO.

1 The structure
2 History
3 Suburban Network
4 See also
5 External links

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The structure

Image:Fig004.jpeg The station building, built in 1888, is a magnificent and ethereal building designed in the Gothic style of architecture. The building exhibits a fusion of influences from Victorian Italianate Gothic Revival architecture and traditional Indian architecture. Internally, the wood carving, tiles, ornamental iron and brass railings, grills for the ticket offices, the balustrades for the grand staircases and other ornaments were the work of students at the Bombay School of Art. The station stands as an example of 19^th century railway architectural marvels for its advanced structural and technical solutions.

Till 1996 the station was called "Victoria Terminus" in honour of Queen Victoria. It was renamed by the state government to Chhatrapati Shivaji, after a famed Maratha king, in keeping with the policy of renaming locations with Indian names. Since the moniker Victoria Terminus, or VT, has been long-standing, its use among the city inhabitants is still widespread.

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History

Image:Bombay VT.jpg Image:Mumbai-Victoria-Terminus.jpg The station was designed by Fredrick Williams Stevens, a consulting architect in 1887-1888 for a princely sum of 16.14 lakhs in those days. Stevens earned the commission to construct the station after a masterpiece watercolour sketch by draughtsman Axel Herman. After earning the commission, Stevens went on a ten-month trip to Europe to make a detailed study of the stations there. St Pancras station in London bears some resemblance to Victoria Terminus.

It took 10 years to complete and was named in honour of the reigning Queen Victoria. In 1996, it was given its current name.

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Suburban Network

The network of suburban trains (locally known as locals, short for local trains) radiating out from this station are instrumental in keeping Bombay running. The station operates long distance trains as well as two of the suburban lines-the main line and the harbour line. It is the westernmost endpoint of Central Railway.

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