Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus

Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus stands in the Fort area of south Mumbai, at the end of the city's main suburban and long-distance rail lines. It was designed by the British architect Frederick William Stevens, working from an early sketch by Axel Haig, and built between 1878 and 1887. It opened in 1888 as Victoria Terminus, named for Queen Victoria in her Golden Jubilee year, and it is still the headquarters of India's Central Railway.

In 1996 the station was renamed after Shivaji, the 17th-century founder of the Maratha state, and in 2017 the name became Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Terminus, with the code CSMT. Many residents still call it VT.

The building mixes Victorian Gothic Revival with Indian craft traditions. A large central dome topped by a statue representing Progress rises over the main block, and the facades are covered with pointed arches, turrets, stained glass and carved stone. Carvings of peacocks, monkeys, lions and local plants were made by students of the Sir J J School of Art. Inside, the old booking hall has a ribbed vaulted ceiling with gold stars on a blue ground.

UNESCO listed the station in 2004 as an outstanding example of Victorian Gothic Revival architecture in India. It has 18 platforms and handles a huge number of commuters every day. The Heritage Gallery and Railway Museum inside the building has offered guided heritage walks of the interior on weekdays.

The outside can be seen at any time, and the facade is lit at night. The best view is from the road junction opposite, near the Municipal Corporation building. Avoid the morning and evening rush hours when moving through the concourse.

Staircase, board rooms and displays in the heritage museum

Central Railway runs the CSMT Heritage Museum in the old station building. Visits take in the grand staircase, the former board rooms and corridors of the headquarters block, and displays of old maps, furniture, photographs and railway objects, together with a close look at the stained glass and the ribbed central dome from inside.