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India's most beautiful railway station looks better than a palace; not located in Delhi, Lucknow, Bengaluru, Chennai, the city is...
Mumbai's Victoria Terminus is considered the most beautiful railway station in India. (File)
Most beautiful railway station in India: The Indian Railways is one of the largest railway networks in the world, with a whopping 7,461 railway stations across the country.
While a majority of Indian railways stations are often overcrowded and some downright filthy, there are a few that are ranked among the most charming train stations on the planet, one shining example being the Victoria Terminus, now known as Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Terminus (CST), which is regarded as the most beautiful railway station in India.017. Who designed Victoria Terminus?
A masterpiece of the Victorian-era Gothic architecture, the Victoria Terminus was built over a span of nearly a decade. The iconic structure, named after Queen Victoria of England, was constructed between 1878-1887 during the British rule in India, and was was designed by British architect Frederick William Stevens, who used the initial design by Axel Haig to construct the historic building in breathtaking Italian Gothic style.
According to historians, Stevens, who drew inspiration for the terminus' design from a masterpiece watercolor sketch by a draughtsman called Axel Haig, received a payment of $19,000 (around Rs 160,900) for his services, a massive sum at the time.
Construction was completed in 1887, the year marking 50 years of Queen Victoria's rule.
Now designated as a UNESCO World Heritage Site, the Victoria Terminus was built to replace the old Bori Bunder railway station, and has became an iconic symbol of Mumbai city. Why Victoria Terminus resembles a palace?
The Victoria Terminus looks like a gothic palace, and resembles many of the Victorian-era public buildings constructed during 1870s British Raj in Mumbai, like the Elphinstone College and the various buildings of Mumbai University, which were designed by famed architect George Gilbert Scott, who also designed his award-winning Berlin Parliament building in Germany.
Stevens' work has been compared to Scott's 1873 St Pancras railway station in London as both feature the lively Italian Gothic style of architecture which has become a hallmark of Victorian-era buildings constructed in British India. The Victoria Terminus took a decade to complete, the longest for any building of that era in Mumbai. When was Victoria Terminus renamed to CST?
The Victoria Terminus was officially renamed as the Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus (CST) in March 1996, after the 17th-century Maratha warrior king and the Maratha Empire's first 'Chhatrapati' or king, Shivaji Maharaj. In 2017, the station's named was again changed to Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Terminus.
The CST serves as the headquarters of the Central Railway, and is one of India's busiest railways stations. The terminal has 18 platforms and serves both long-distance as well as suburban trains in the Central Railway network.
