HERITAGE MUMBAI - REAY ROAD RAILWAY STATION

MUMBAI MEMORIES

REAY ROAD

THE CUTEST HERITAGE RAILWAY STATION IN MUMBAI
by
VIKRAM KARVE  

 

Long back, maybe seven or eight years ago, on my way to the Lal Bahadur Shastri Nautical College (LBS CAMSAR) at Hay Bunder in Mumbai, I decided to go by train and caught a harbour branch local at CST Mumbai. 

 

After stopping at the Masjid, Sandhurst Road and Dockyard Road Railway Stations, the local train stopped at Reay Road where I got down (or "alighted from the train onto the platform", as they say in Railway parlance).

Walking towards the exit of Reay Road Railway Station, I was spellbound by the exquisite beauty of the ancient station building, which stood like a sentinel above the railway lines which passed through beneath it. The most eye catching feature which adorned the building was the elegant clock in the centre which looked down like a beautiful vigilant eye, as if keeping an eagle eye from its towering position on the trains coming and going, rushing below, and the goings on and hustle bustle on the platforms . 

 

Many Mariners, in their younger days, would probably have passed through these magnificent portals of Reay Road Station without even giving it a second look. 

 

Reay Road is the cutest and most petite railway station I have ever seen.

Let me tell you a bit more about its heritage.

 

Did you know that Reay Road Railway Station, a prime landmark of Mumbai, is a 19th Century Heritage Grade I structure? 

 

Surely you know CST (VT/ Bori Bunder) and Churchgate are famous and celebrated Heritage Buildings, but did you even imagine in your wildest thoughts that Reay Road was an equally prestigious Heritage Structure embodying excellence in architectural style, design, building technology and material usage?

Reay Road Railway Station, on the harbour branch railway line of the Central Railway, rises to the top of a road bridge whose span bestrides and overlaps the railway track underneath. The railway tracks tunnel through an arch on the southern side. 

 

The station superstructure, constructed of stone, atop the arch, has in its center a majestic clock overlooking the platforms and tracks as if keeping a benevolent and watchful eye on the goings on below. 

 

It is an elegant and unique example in compressed space utilization, a masterpiece - a true work of art. 

 

I have not seen a railway station like Reay Road anywhere else.

I think Reay Road is the only Heritage Railway Station on Mumbai's Harbour Line. 

 

The other heritage railway stations on Mumbai's suburban railway include Byculla on the Central Railway and Bandra on the Western Railway.

 

The next time you are in Mumbai, catch a harbour branch local train and get down at Reay Road. Stand aside and let the commuters rush away; and then look towards the southern side and marvel at the adorable and captivating heritage masterpiece. 

 

Is Reay Road Railway Station still the same way as I described it? Or has it changed?

 

VIKRAM KARVE

Copyright © Vikram Karve 2010

Vikram Karve has asserted his right under the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988 to be identified as the author of this work.

© vikram karve., all rights reserved.

VIKRAM KARVE educated at IIT Delhi, ITBHU Varanasi, The Lawrence School Lovedale, and Bishop's School Pune, is an Electronics and Communications Engineer by profession, a Human Resource Manager and Trainer by occupation, a Teacher by vocation, a Creative Writer by inclination and a Foodie by passion. An avid blogger, he has written a number of fiction short stories and creative non-fiction articles in magazines and journals for many years before the advent of blogging. He has written a foodie book Appetite For A Stroll and a book of fiction short stories which is being published soon and is busy writing his first novel. Vikram lives in Pune with his family and pet Doberman girl Sherry, with whom he takes long walks thinking creative thoughts.
 

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