8-Central Railway
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CR's headquarters Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus
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Dates of operation | 1951 | –Present
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Predecessor | Great Indian Peninsula Railway, Scindia State Railway, Dholpur Railway & others |
Track gauge | Mixed |
Electrification | Yes |
Headquarters | Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus, Mumbai |
Central Railway is one of the 16 zones of Indian Railways. Its headquarters is in Mumbai at Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus. It has the distinction of operating first passenger railway line in India, which opened from Mumbai to Thane on 16 April 1853.
The railway zone was formed on 5 November 1951 by grouping several government-owned railways, including the Great Indian Peninsula Railway, the Scindia State Railway of the former princely state of Gwalior, Nizam State Railway, Wardha Coal State Railway and the Dholpur Railways.
The Central Railway zone formerly included large parts of Madhya Pradesh and part of southern Uttar Pradesh, which made it the largest railway zone in India in terms of area, track mileage and staff. These areas became the new West Central Railway zone in April 2003.
The Central Railway General Manager's official residence (erstwhile GIPR agent's residence) 'Glenogle'-a Grade II-B heritage bungalow, is located on Bhausaheb Hire Marg(Mount Pleasant Road), adjacent to the Maharashtra Chief minister's official residence 'Varsha' in Malabar Hill, Mumbai.
Central railway zone connects to other Zones of Indian railways as at:
Constructed in 1907, the narrow gauge Matheran line connects Neral on the Mumbai-Pune main line with the hill station of Matheran in the Western Ghats, east of Mumbai. Neral is linked to Mumbai's Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus by frequent suburban electric trains. Steam engines have now been replaced by diesel locomotives but it is still a pleasurable journey. The route is noted for its sharp curves.