Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus

Brief Information

The station building was constructed as the headquarters of the railway, but it functions as one of India's busiest transport hubs. It is therefore worth reading it on two scales at once: as a grand 19th-century administrative building and as a living Mumbai railway station. Construction began in 1878 and took ten years; the design was created by the British architect Frederick William Stevens.

Its appearance explains why the station became a symbol of the port city: European Victorian Neo-Gothic is combined here with Indo-Saracenic motifs. The later change of name is also visible through the history of the facade: in the 1950s the statue of Queen Victoria was removed from it, and in 1996 the station changed its former name, Victoria Terminus. In 2004 the building was added to the World Heritage List.

What to Notice First

The main focus of the visit is how the building combines a representative image with railway work. On the facade, you can compare the stone dome, turrets, and pointed arches: these details connect the station with Victorian Neo-Gothic, but the complex plan and Indo-Saracenic motifs prevent it from looking like a simple transfer of a British model.

Inside, the materials matter, not only the overall scale: wood carving, iron and copper railings, and the balustrade of the main staircase show that this utilitarian building was designed as a prestigious place. It is also worth separately remembering the void left by the statue of Victoria on the facade: the change in political meaning here happened not only in the name. And alongside this ceremonial shell, the transport system operates: long-distance trains and the suburban Central Line and Harbour line depart from here, while the station itself remains the westernmost hub of Central Railway.