*Sriyanka Chatterjee

On the historic day of 16th April, 1853, when three majestic steam engines Sahib, Sultan and Sindh covered a distance of 34 Km from Bori Bandar (Bombay) to Tanna (Thane), it marked the formal birth of railways in India.  On that day, another well-known locality of South Mumbai – Byculla also earned a permanent place in the annals of history. For when 200 labourers of the Great Indian Peninsular Railway pulled the steam engine across a raised platform with wooden structures at Byculla, the train slowly came to a halt and well-dressed gora-sahibs boarded the first-class coach from there with an aristocratic air. Byculla (or Bhaykala) thus became the first railway station of the country.

Bori Bandar, that is the present-day Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Terminus, just had a small office accommodation in a modest hut-like wooden structure those days. First-class passengers would board and de-board trains only from the Byculla Station.

The building housing the Byculla Railway Station is now a Grade-1 heritage building and is also the oldest among five such structures in the city of Mumbai. The building’s roof of tiles interspersed with beautiful, coloured glasses, cast-iron columns, the old signal cabin, and captivating patterns of the booking counter speak of a glorious past.

Historic Importance of Byculla and the Station

At that time in 1853, when the Byculla station was thrown open for general passengers, it was housed in a wooden building. In that year itself, the Company Bahadur took note of the increased passenger footfall in this ‘most important station’ and recommended setting up of a roof over the main line in the station. The Great Indian Peninsula (GIP) Railway’s Traffic Manager Mr. Roche had agreed to this, but the Chief Resident Engineer Mr. Barkley considered it unnecessary, and accordingly, the Committee of Directors put this proposal on hold.

There was a time (1860) when Byculla had sold the highest number of season tickets in the country! 

Byculla area has been an important commercial area since the early 19^th century. Byculla Bridge was built in 1886 and re-made in 1920. It connects the western part of Byculla with Veermata Jijabai Udyan.

The place where the station is located used to be close to the sea in 1784. Just as factories were beginning to be set up here, the Europeans also started to slowly move in at Byculla. A race-course and then a turf club which started in 1800 became well-known landmarks of the city. The first residential club of Mumbai - Byculla Club was started in 1833. It was followed by the establishment of a magnificent Church in this area which started drawing Christian devotees from far and wide. In the 19th century, this area was looked upon as a posh locality of Christians and Parsis!

When bubonic plague epidemic struck Bombay in the last five years of the 19^th century, the infected passengers used to arrive in covered-up third class coaches in Byculla station, to be sent further to segregation camps from there.

However, with the establishment of Mahalaxmi Race-couse in 1878, Byculla started to lose its attraction among its upper-class residents. Slowly, the Europeans started dispersing from there. The Turf Club closed down in 1890. The Byculla Club also downed its shutters and later, during the days of the first world war, a hospital going by the name Byculla Infirmary was set-up in its premises. It later came to be known as Bharat Ratna Dr. Babasaheb Ambedkar Railway Hospital.

As the number of passengers at Byculla station increased, necessity was felt for constructing a bigger station a little farther away. As per the wishes of London-based GIP Railway Board, the design of the new station was modified a few times between 1885 to 1886. The then government finally approved a design on December, 1887. The contract for building the new building of the Byculla Station was given to M/S Barjorjee Rustomjee and Co., who had previously constructed the then Victoria Terminus Station as well.

The contract for construction of the new station was signed on June, 1890.  Finally, on July 1, 1892, the new platform of Byculla station was thrown open for public. It was followed by the construction of a shed, goods yard, sidings and an additional shed for engines. A budget of Rs 2.53 lakhs for the construction of the new platform and Rs 3.70 lakh for the goods-engine shed was sanctioned in those good old days!

A railway workshop was also located here. When a new signalling system was being started in the railway stations around Mumbai in 1891, the required goods and materials were all supplied from this workshop. In between June, 1892 to December, 1893, new roads in the rail yard, turn-table, shed, tank-house, coal-platform and some other constructions were completed. After that, in February, 1928, automatic colour light signalling was started between VT and Byculla. In 1934, a 12-coach special train was started between Pune and Byculla to bring passengers to watch horse races at the Mahalaxmi Race Course. The responsibility of picking up the elite passengers from Byculla was given to BEST.  

In the last 150 years, Byculla area and the station have remained a witness to various historic events in Mumbai.

Heritage Restoration of Byculla Station

In 2022, the historic Byculla Railway station has been restored to its original, ancient heritage glory, thanks to the initiative of I Love Mumbai Foundation with support of the Bajaj Group. Abha Narain Lambah Associates were the conservation architects.

The exercise of facade restoration included cleaning of the basalt stone facade, restoration of original fenestration such as doors, windows, grills and gates. Restoration of the timber truss roof, Mangalore tiles and smaller lean-to roofs along the facade was done. Addition of ramps, steps etc was also done in order to make the station accessible to all.

Signage which is a very important component of design has been implanted using original signage bracket designs discovered on site during the restoration works. The grill is now painted as per the historic paint scrapes found on site and stands of teak wood paneling forming a large ticketing window with a tinted glass fanlight.

“We peeled off layers and layers of paint and cement that had been plastered across the façade. The building was originally done in a beautiful stone structure that got covered in cement and plaster. Today, it is back to its original glory. The stone has been restored. The verandahs that had been covered up and blocked with walls to create temporary offices have now been opened. The original terracotta tiled roof has been restored. The Burma teak wooden doors and windows have been restored to their original form as those were in the 19th century. All the electrical wiring has been re-done and re-routed. The building has been restored carefully with its original cast-iron grills, its historic ticketing window and its original basalt stone flooring” says Abha Narain Lambah

With the completion of the restoration project, this glorious landmark of Mumbai is once again donning its charming old looks. Now a great responsibility has been entrusted upon Mumbaikars. That is to carry out the mandate of Swachh Bharat and ensure that this station’s premises always remain clean.  

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PIB Mum/Features/ SC/PM

*The author is a Media & Communication Officer in PIB Mumbai

Photo Courtesy: Central Railway

 

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