Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus
The Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus ( Victoria Terminus until 1996 ) is a station of the Indian Railways in the south of Mumbai. He is one of the largest and busiest train stations in the world and since 2004 is a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
History and Description
The British architect Frederick William Stevens (1847-1900) was awarded the contract in 1878, a station building to design than western terminus for long-distance traffic to and from the then Bombay. In his preliminary studies in England, he was inspired by the station building London's St Pancras station, with the Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus has similarities. When the building was completed in 1888, it was considered the largest and most important buildings of British India. Towards the end of the 1920s it was expanded and has since then also the suburban traffic.
The building is in the style of Victorian Gothic Revival architecture. Marked with a steel and glass roof platforms are about 400 meters long. There is an approximately 100 meter high, walk, octagonal dome, which is supported by a ribbed design the main entrance. Inside, there are open colonnades. The building is richly decorated with stone sculptures and reliefs. In the dome is the sculpture Lady of Progress.
The station building is a symbiosis of British architecture and architecture as well as Indian structural elements and craftsmanship and its kind architecturally unique. It has become a symbol of the city of Mumbai as "Gothic City". The Indian monsoon and the smog of the city threaten fabric of the building considerably.
Daily pass more than 1000 trains and about three million people this station. He is next to Tokyo Shinjuku to passengers of one of the busiest stations in the world. He was named first by the British Queen Victoria. Since 1996, he is named after the Hindu Marathenführers ( Chhatrapati, such as " patron " ) Shivaji.
More
- 2008, the station target of terrorist attacks in Mumbai was case 58 people were killed and 104 others injured ..
- The station is the scene of the final scene of the hit film Slumdog Millionaire (2008).