Mumbai: Westen Railway celebrates 125 years with restoration of its HQ

Restoration work going on at WR headquarters

As the iconic Churchgate headquarters building completes 125 years in January 2024, the Western Railway has begun an intensive restoration process worth R7 crore and also lined up month-long celebrations. The work on the original building commenced in May 1894 and was completed in January 1899 and was designed by the legendary 19th century architect F W Stevens.

The offices of the Bombay, Baroda & Central India (BB&CI) Railway, now called Western Railway, complete 125 years and have a fascinating story. "Initially after incorporation of BB&CI Railway, Surat was made its headquarters. In 1863, the headquarters were shifted to Bombay and located at Lalbaug, Parel. An increased workforce necessitated a larger office and BB&CI HQ was shifted first to Dhanji Street, Grant Road and later to Meadows Street in Fort. Before finally constructing its own headquarters building in 1899, the BB&CI HQ moved to a building in the Fort area now called Brady House," a senior official said.

"We have taken up comprehensive restoration of the heritage building to take it back to the glorious era. The works lined up include dome cleaning of the west facade, window-door restoration, cleaning of the main dome, the replacement of rafters in the passage, polishing of wood work and doors and setting up thematic lighting," a senior official said. "Besides this, we are also upgrading the existing heritage gallery on the ground floor, setting up a new one on the third floor and creating a path for a heritage walk inside the building," he added.

Restoration work

>> Dome cleaning of the west facade
>> Window-door restoration
>> Cleaning of the main dome
>> Replacement of rafters in the passage
>> Polishing of all woodwork
>> Setting up thematic lighting