Formerly known as Victoria Terminus, and better known by its abbreviation CST or Bombay VT, is a historic railway station which serves as the headquarters of the Central Railways. It is one of the busiest railway stations in India, and serves Central Railway trains terminating in Mumbai as well as the Mumbai Suburban Railway.
Look at those intricate details, it is just gorgeous!!
The station was designed by Frederick William Stevens in 1887-1888. He received US$35,830.80 as payment for his services! Stevens earned the commission to construct the station after a masterpiece watercolour sketch by draughtsman Axel Haig. The final design bears some resemblance to the St Pancras railway station in London.
It took ten years to complete and was named "Victoria Terminus" in honour of the Queen and Empress Victoria; it was opened on the date of her Golden Jubilee in 1887. This famous architectural landmark in Gothic style was built as the headquarters of the Great Indian Peninsular Railway. Since then, the station came to be known as Bombay VT.
In 1996 the Minister of Railways, Suresh Kalmadi, changed the name of the station to Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus.
And here you only see a few people because this was taken on Holi, the national holiday. On a normal day there are so many people in this building I would not have had the opportunity to take a picture like this, it would be packed and people would push and shove to get to their train!
The Mumbai Suburban Railway system carries more than 6.9 million commuters on a daily basis. It has one of the highest passenger densities of any urban railway system in the world.
What I love are these cute little taxis that are driving to and from the train station and everywhere in Mumbai. How cute are these!
In 2008, the station was featured prominently in the Academy Award winning film, Slumdog Millionaire. And on 26 November 2008, two terrorists entered the passenger hall of the CST, opened fire and threw grenades at people. The terrorists were armed with AK-47 rifles. More than 50 people were killed in the attack! A sad day for Mumbai!!
I am not sure if I would like to take a train ride... (this picture is not mine... the rest is!)
It's a crazy and busy world out there!!
Enjoy the day!
Mireille
2 comments:
The owner of the cow is responsible for feeding it's animal.
Love these pics. That building is incredible. I really love the architecture on buildings like that! Taxis are very cool too.
Post a Comment