Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Terminus

Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus is a historic railway terminus and a UNESCO World Heritage Site in Mumbai, Maharashtra, India. Its official name is Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Terminus, and it was formerly known as Victoria Terminus. The Bombay station code for Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus is CSTM (mainline) /ST (suburban).

Frederick William Stevens, an architectural engineer who was born in the United Kingdom, worked off of an initial concept that was created by Axel Haig and developed the terminus in an exuberant Italian Gothic style. Construction on it started in 1878, in a location to the south of the ancient Bori Bunder railway station, and continued until 1887, the year that marked the half-century mark of Queen Victoria’s reign.

After Shivaji, the warrior king of the 17th century who used guerrilla tactics to contest the Mughal Empire and found a new state in the western Marathi-speaking regions of the Deccan Plateau, the station name was changed in March 1996 from Victoria Terminus to “Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus” (with station code CST).

The prefix “Chhatrapati” is frequently used in front of Shivaji’s name. This is a title that has the literal meaning of “a king dignified by the emblem of a parasol; a great king.” In 2017, the name of the station was changed once more to “Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Terminus” (with the code CSMT). The word “Maharaj” literally means “Great king; emperor,” which fits the new name perfectly. Both the previous initials “VT” and the present initials “CST” are still often used today.

The headquarters of India’s Central Railway are located within the terminus. It is a terminal for both long-distance and suburban trains, making it one of the busiest train stations in all of India.

History

Victoria Terminus

The Great Indian Peninsular Railway originally used to call this well-known structure, which has since evolved into a symbol for the entire city, its headquarters.

The new train station was constructed to take the place of the old Bori Bunder railway station, which was located in the Bori Bunder neighbourhood of Bombay, which is a well-known port and warehouse neighbourhood known for its imports and exports. The larger station that was constructed to meet the needs of Bombay at the time was named Victoria Terminus after Queen Victoria, who was reigning as Empress of India at the time. This was done because Bombay had become a major port city at the time. Frederick William Stevens, an engineer and architect who was born in the United Kingdom and worked for the Bombay office of the Indian colonial Public Works Department, was the person responsible for designing the station. Work began in 1878. As compensation for his services, he was given 1,614,000 yen, which is equivalent to $21,000 in American currency. Following the presentation of draughtsman Axel Haig’s excellent watercolour sketch, the commission to build the station was awarded to Stevens. The design has been compared to George Gilbert Scott’s 1873 St. Pancras railway station in London, which was also built in an exuberant Italian Gothic style. However, it is much closer to Scott’s second prize winning entry for Berlin’s parliament building, which was exhibited in London in 1875. This entry featured numerous towers and turrets, as well as a large central ribbed dome. Additionally, the architectural architecture of the station is comparable to that of other public buildings constructed in Bombay during the 1870s, such as Elphinstone College, but most notably the structures of Bombay University, which were also designed by G G Scott.

The completion of the station took ten years, the most amount of time required for any structure in Bombay during that era.

Missing statue

During the course of its construction, a marble statue of Queen Victoria was mounted in the building’s primary facade. The statue was placed in a canopy directly beneath the building’s clock. As a result of a directive from the Government of India, the authorities in India started removing statues of British figures from public spaces and government buildings in the 1950s. This directive was issued by the Government of India. At least until the 1980s, the majority of the statues were left lying on the grass in the open at Victoria Gardens, which were later renamed Rani Baug. This included the statue of Queen Victoria. A request for information under India’s Right to Information Act was made, however there was no evidence that the statue had ever left the country. Historians currently hold the opinion that the statue was either stolen, smuggled out of the country, or destroyed. The statue depicting Progress, which is located on top of the dome together with another statue, is frequently confused for the one depicting Queen Victoria.

Renaming

The name of the station has been changed on multiple occasions. It was constructed to take the place of Bori Bunder, which served as the terminus of the Great Indian Peninsula Railway from 1853 until 1888. It was given the name Victoria Terminus in honour of Queen Victoria’s Golden Jubilee. In 1996, the station was renamed to honour Emperor Chhatrapati Shivaji, who is considered to be the founder of the Maratha Empire. The new name is Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus.

After the Ministry passed a resolution in the Maharashtra Assembly to change the name to Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Terminus in December 2016, and the home ministry officially sent a letter to the state government denoting the name change in May 2017, the station was once again renamed as the Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Terminus after the letter was sent. However, the names “VT” and “CST” as well as the present name “CSMT” are still frequently used in addition to the more recent moniker “CSMT.”

2008 Mumbai attacks

On November 26, 2008, two terrorists broke into the passenger hall of the CST, opened fire, and threw grenades at people. They then left the building. Rifles model AK-47 were among the weapons in the possession of the terrorists. Later on, the police were able to apprehend one of the terrorists, Ajmal Kasab, alive, and eyewitnesses were able to positively identify him. Unfortunately, the others did not make it. The assault started at approximately 21:30, when two guys entered the passenger hall and began firing their weapons. After leaving the station through the North FOB and heading west to the Cama hospital back door, the assailants committed their final act of violence at approximately 22:45, during which they killed 58 individuals and injured 104 others. Kasab was able to be identified and placed under indictment because of the CCTV footage. Kasab was found guilty of his participation in the attack in 2010, and he was ultimately executed by hanging in 2012.

Structure

High Victorian Gothic is the architectural style that was utilised in the construction of the station building. Both Victorian Italianate Gothic Revival architecture and traditional Indian architecture may be seen to have influenced the design of this building in a mashup fashion. The roofline, turrets, pointed arches, and quirky ground plan are all architectural elements that are reminiscent of traditional Indian palaces. Students at the Sir Jamsetjee Jeejebhoy School of Art were responsible for the wood carving, tiles, ornate iron and brass railings, grills for the ticket offices, balustrades for the grand staircases, and other embellishments that can be found on the exterior. The station is considered to be an example of the advanced structural and technical solutions of the 19th century and is considered to be a marvel of railway architecture. Both the railway engineering and the civil engineering that went into the construction of the CSMT were done to a very high standard. It is one of the earliest and most impressive examples of India’s successful combination of industrial technology and the Gothic Revival design style. The outline of the building’s platform, which is 330 feet long and connected to a train shed that is 1,200 feet long, serves as the building’s skeleton plan. The centrally dome-shaped office structure also has a train shed. The CSMT dome, which featured dovetailed ribs and was constructed without centering, was regarded as an innovative achievement of the time period.

Conclusion 

Mumbai’s Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Terminus was previously Victoria Terminus. Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus’s Bombay station code is CSTM (mainline) /ST (suburban).Frederick William Stevens, a British architect, refined Axel Haig’s plan in an extravagant Italian Gothic style. Construction began in 1878, south of the ancient Bori Bunder railway station, and proceeded until 1887, Queen Victoria’s half-century mark.In March 1996, Victoria Terminus was renamed “Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus” after the 17th-century warrior king who utilised guerilla tactics to resist the Mughal Empire and found a new state in western Marathi-speaking portions of the Deccan Plateau (with station code CST).