Title - 125 years of Mumbai’s iconic rail terminal It is an outstanding example of late 19th century railway

Mumbai: The Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus, an outstanding example of late 19th century railway architecture in the British era, has become a symbol of the city in the 125 years since it was constructed.As part of its commemoration, the Central Railway in coordination with the Department of Posts, Maharashtra and Goa Circle, released a special cover of the CST building on Monday at a function. W K Pradhan, additional general manager, said the CST was the most photographed building after the Taj Mahal in the country.Millions of commuters arrive and exit through the grand hallways of this historic station which connects people from far flung suburbs to the business districts in South Mumbai.“Designed by F W Stevens, a consulting architect, the construction of this building started in May, 1878, and took 10 years to complete in 1888,” said a CR spokesperson. The station was named Victoria Terminus after the then reigning royal, Queen Victoria, and opened on the date of her Golden Jubilee in 1887. At the time, the building was the most expensive structure in Mumbai, costing £260,000.
“In 1996, it was renamed as Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus and in 2004, Unesco enlisted it as a World Heritage Site for its architectural splendour. From December 2012, the CST building was opened for public viewing.”
The CST is a splendid example of Victorian Gothic Revival architecture in India, blended with themes deriving from Indian traditional architecture. The building became the symbol of Bombay as the ‘Gothic City’ and the major international mercantile port of India. Built according a to Victorian Gothic design based on late medieval Italian models, its remarkable stone dome, turrets, pointed arches and eccentric ground plan are close to traditional palace architecture. It is an outstanding example of the meeting of two cultures, as British architects worked with Indian craftsmen to include Indian architectural traditions and idioms thus forging a new style unique to the city.
To mark the occasion, the CST will be illuminated with multi-coloured LED lighting and several programmes and festivities have been planned for the occasion.