Mumbai: Western Railway releases souvenir coin on eve of 74th anniversary

Pics/Western Railway

The Western Railway (WR) will observe its 74th Foundation Day on Tuesday. Since its humble beginnings on November 5, the railway has had several milestones in its 70+ years of journey in service to the nation.

On the eve of the 74th Foundation Day, Ashok Kumar Misra, WR's General Manager, released a souvenir coin with the imprint of the railway's headquarters, which is celebrating its completion of 125 years. Misra also congratulated all the employees across its six divisions for their dedication towards their work and the achievements made by WR over all these years.

Vineet Abhishek, the Chief Public Relations Officer of WR, said the Bombay, Baroda and Central India Railway (BB&CI) was incorporated in 1855, starting with the construction of 29-mile broad gauge track from Ankleshwar to Utran (north of Surat), with Surat as its headquarters then. Later that year on November 21, the company concluded an agreement with the East India Company to construct a railway line from Surat to Baroda and Ahmedabad. Another contract was signed to start a line from Utran to Bombay to ensure the smooth supply of the cotton produce grown in Gujarat to the western port. The work commenced on the line in the following year and the service from Utran to Grant Road station in Bombay was officially opened on November 28, 1864, marking the inception of the present-day WR.

After Independence, WR began operations on November 5, 1951, following the merger of its forerunner, the erstwhile BB&CI with other state railways: Saurashtra, Rajputana and Jaipur. The present jurisdiction of WR is in six divisions: Mumbai Central, Vadodara, Ahmedabad, Rajkot, Bhavnagar and Ratlam. On March 3, 1961, WR introduced the nine-coach suburban trains owing to the increasing demand by travelers going towards the cityside. In 1972, WR introduced its prestigious Mumbai-New Delhi Rajdhani Express, which is one of the most important and busiest lines on the Indian Railways network.

During its 74-year-old journey, WR achieved several firsts, including the introduction of the world's first Ladies Special train, the 15-car suburban train and the fully air-conditioned suburban train in India. It has also earned many firsts in various fields such as operations, safety and adoption of state-of-the-art technology. WR is also running the Vande Bharat trains to various destinations and has recently introduced the Namo Bharat Rapid Rail between Bhuj and Ahmedabad.

In January, a series of events was organised to mark the quasquicentennial celebrations of the iconic WR headquarters building at Churchgate. "Continuing with the celebrations, this Souvenir Coin is another attempt to immortalize this historical event to register in the annals of Western Railway and the Indian Railways. Made of Cupro Nickel with gold plating, this souvenir coin displays the momentous event and on the other side of the coin is the splendid Western Railway Headquarters Building at Churchgate, Mumbai in its full golden glory. The coin's circumference is adorned with 125 serrations, to mark the completion of 125 years of this magnificent edifice," WR stated in a press release.