Central Railway - Definition and Overview

For information about the company in the UK called Central Railway see Central Railway (UK)

The Central Railway is one of the 16 zones of Indian Railways, and is one of the largest. Its headquarters are in Mumbai at Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus (formerly Victoria Terminus). It also has the distinction of including the first passenger railway line in India, which opened from Bombay to Thane on April 16 1853.

Some major cities that fall under the Central Railway zonal jurisdiction are:

• Mumbai
• Pune
• Nagpur
• Kolhapur
• Solapur

The railway covers a large part of the state of Maharashtra, as well as parts of north-east Karnataka and southern Madhya Pradesh. It is organized into five divisions: Bhusawal division, Nagpur division, Mumbai CST division, Solapur division, and Pune division.

The Central Railway was formed on November 5 1951 by grouping several government-owned railways, including the Great Indian Peninsular Railway, and the Scindia State Railway of the former princely state of Gwalior.

The Central Railway zone formerly covered northern Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh states, and portions of southern Uttar Pradesh. These areas became the new West Central Railway zone in April 2003.

See Also

• Mumbai suburban railway

External links

• Bhusawal Division (http://www.bhusawalrail.gov.in/)