Bori Bunder station, Victoria Terminus, Mumbai CST, Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus, Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Terminus — call it what you may but the emotion of this historic terminal train station situated in the heart of Mumbai remains unchanged. Such is the charm of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Terminus (CSTM), which was christened thus in 2017.
This UNESCO World Heritage Site was named after Queen Victoria in 1887 and it opened its gates on June 20, 1887, on the day of her Golden Jubilee. Designed by British engineer and architect Frederick William Stevens in true Italian Gothic style, this station, which is built over 2.85 hectares of area, took over a decade to complete. Well, it turned out to be a masterpiece full of towers and turrets complete with a high dome. While the main structure itself is constructed from limestone and sandstone, the interiors are made of the highest quality of Italian marble. It does include motifs from Indian architecture as well.
This iconic station of the financial capital of our country has about 18 platforms and used to see a footfall of over three million daily in the pre-pandemic days, of course. The station features in various movies, from Oscar-winning saga Slumdog Millionaire to Mani Ratnam's OK Kanmani. Sigh, no frame can do justice to this marvel of architecture.
