Charni Road railway station

Charni Road चर्नी रोड
Mumbai Suburban Railway station
Coordinates	18°57′06″N 72°49′07″E / 18.951565°N 72.818633°E / 18.951565; 72.818633
Owned by	Ministry of Railways, Indian Railways
Line(s)	Western Line
Platforms	4
Tracks	4
Construction
Structure type	Standard on-ground station
Other information
Fare zone	Western Railways
History
Opened	1867
Services
Preceding station   Mumbai Suburban Railway   Following station Marine Lines toward Churchgate Western Line Grant Road toward Dahanu Road
Location
Charni Road Location within Mumbai

Charni Road (Old spellings: Churney Road and Charney Road)^[1] is a railway station on the Western Line of the Mumbai Suburban Railway. The main significance of Charni Road station is that it is near the Girgaum Chowpatti beach and Marine Drive promenade, a major destination for tourists in Mumbai. It is also important because of the diamond trading industry located here, mainly in the Panchratna building near the railway station.

Charni Road eastern entrance

The station derives its name from the fact that grazing lands for cattle and horses were located nearby in earlier days (Charne in Marathi means to graze) In 1838, the British rulers introduced a 'grazing fee' which several cattle-owners could not afford. Therefore, Sir Jamshedji Jeejeebhoy spent 20,000 from his own purse for purchasing some grasslands near the seafront at Thakurdwar and saw that the starving cattle grazed without a fee in that area. In time the area became to be known as "Charni" meaning grazing. When a railway station on the BB&CI railway was constructed there it was called Charni Road. The BB&CI line from Back Bay to Virar opened in 1867.^[2]

There have also been some controversies during its renovation.^[3]

Today Charni road is well known for its old charm Chawls, wholesale markets of diamonds (Opera House), garments, Irani cafés traditional Maharashtrian culture (Girgaon) and also tall skyscrapers.

For information about the area, see Charni Road.

References