Central Railway (abbreviated CR) is one of the 19 zones of Indian Railways. Its headquarters is in Mumbai at

Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Terminus Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus (officially Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Terminus, Bombay station code: CSMT ( mainline)/ST (suburban)), is a historic railway terminus and UNESCO World Heritage Site in Mumbai, Maharashtra, India. The terminus was d ...

. It has the distinction of operating the first passenger railway line in India, which opened from Mumbai to Thane on .

History

The railway zone was formed on 5 November 1951 by grouping several government-owned railways, including the

Great Indian Peninsula Railway The Great Indian Peninsula Railway (reporting mark GIPR) was a predecessor of the Central Railway (and by extension, the current state-owned Indian Railways), whose headquarters was at the Boree Bunder in Mumbai (later, the Victoria Terminu ...

, the

Scindia State Railway Gwalior Light Railway (GLR) or Maharaja Railway was a narrow-gauge railway network in Gwalior. It was set up for Gwalior State during the times of British India. Until its closure in 2020, the railway was the longest gauge railway in the world ...

of the former princely state of Gwalior, Nizam State Railway, Wardha Coal State Railway and the Dholpur Railways.Rao, M.A. (1988). ''Indian Railways'', New Delhi: National Book Trust, p.42 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.

Routes

Main/Long Routes of Central Railway

** Mumbai CSMT-Kalyan-Igatpuri-Nashik road-Manmad-Jalgaon-Bhusawal-Akola-Badnera-Wardha-Nagpur ** Mumbai CSMT-Kalyan-Karjat-Lonavala-Pune ** Mumbai CSMT-Kurla-Vashi-Panvel-Roha ** Manmad-Aurangabad-Nanded (south central railway line) ** Pune-Daund-Solapur-Wadi-Tandur ** Pune-Satara-Sangli-Miraj-Kolhapur ** Miraj-Pandharpur-Kurduvadi-Barshi-Osmanabad-Latur-Latur Road ** Ballarshah-Majri-Sevagram (formerly Wardha East Jn.)-Nagpur-Amla-Itarsi ** Dadar-Solapur-Dadar One of the oldest and important railway project of central railway zone was Kalyan-Ahmednagar railway project which was in planning stage since British regime. It was referred to as 3rd ghat project. A survey was carried out in 1973, 2000, 2006, 2014 etc, and the project was in the Railways Board pink book in 2010 but unfortunately the project was not started. The alignment length of this project was 184 km and it could have been shortest route for Marathwada, Andhra and Telangana. The major challenge for this project is 18.96 km long tunnel in Malshej Ghat section. Malshej Kriti samiti is following for Kalyan-Ahmednagar railway project. Kalyan-Murbad section which is first phase of this project is already under survey stage.

Branch/Short routes of Central Railway

** Mumbai CSMT-Wadala Road-Bandra-Goregaon ** Thane-Vashi-Panvel ** Daund-Manmad ** Bhusawal-Khandwa ** Amaravati-Narkher ** Vasai Road-Diva-Panvel ** Panvel-Karjat ** Badnera-Amravati ** Daund-Baramati ** Puntamba-Shirdi ** Chalisgaon-Dhule ** Pachora-Jamner (NG) ** Pulgaon-Arvi (NG) ** Murtijapur-Yavatmal (NG) ** Murtijapur-Achalapur (NG) ** Jalamb-Khamgaon ** Majri jn-Pimpalkutti ** Neral-Matheran

Utilization

High

* Mumbai-Thane-Kalyan-Karjat/Kasara sub-urban section * Mumbai-Bhusawal-Akola-Nagpur * Mumbai-Bhusawal-Khandwa * Itarsi-Nagpur-Sevagram-Majri-Balharshah * Mumbai-Pune-Daund-Solapur-Kalaburgi-Wadi * Mumbai-Pune-Miraj-Hubli-Bengaluru-Chennai * Daund-Ahmednagar-Manmad

Low

* Puntamba-Sai nagar Shirdi * Miraj-Kurduwadi * Latur-Kurduwadi

Connections

Central railway zone connects to other Zones of Indian railways as at:

Western Railway Zone

Bandra Bandra ( æːɳɖɾa also known as Vandre ( �aːn̪d̪ɾe is an upscale coastal suburb located in Mumbai (Bombay) area of the Konkan division, Maharashtra, India. The suburb is located to the immediate north of River Mithi, which separates Ba ...

, Andheri,

Goregaon Goregaon ( �oːɾeɡaːʋ is a suburb of Mumbai city, in the Mumbai Suburban district of India. It has a railway station on the Mumbai suburban railway on the Western Line. An extension of the Harbour Line was completed in 2018 because of ...

Dadar Dadar ( ̪aːd̪əɾ is a densely populated residential and shopping neighbourhood in Mumbai. It is also a prominent railway and bus service hub with local and national connectivity. Dadar holds the distinction of being Mumbai’s first planne ...

, Vasai Road

Konkan Railway Zone

* Roha

South Central Railway zone

= Secunderabad railway division

= * Balharshah * Latur road Jn

= Guntakal Railway Division

= * Wadi Jn

= Nanded railway division

= * Pimpalkutti * Akola Jn * Khandwa Jn * Ankai Jn (MMR-AWB-PBN-NED route)

South East Central Railway zone

= Nagpur SEC railway division

= * Nagpur Jn * Chhindwara Jn

South Western Railway zone

= Hubballi railway division

= * Hotgi Jn - For Pune- Solapur-vijayapura-Gadag line. * Miraj Jn - For Pune -Miraj-Londa-Bangalore line

Western Central Railway zone

= Bhopal division

= * Itarsi Jn * Khandwa Jn

Matheran Hill Railway

Constructed in 1907, the narrow gauge Matheran Hill Railway connects Neral on the Mumbai-

Chennai Chennai (, ), formerly known as Madras (List of renamed Indian cities and states#Tamil Nadu, the official name until 1996), is the capital city of Tamil Nadu, the southernmost states and territories of India, Indian state. The largest city ...

main line with the hill station of Matheran in the Western Ghats, east of Mumbai. Neral is linked to Mumbai's

by frequent suburban trains. Steam engines have now been replaced by diesel locomotives. The route is noted for its sharp curves.

Divisions

* Mumbai CR railway division * Solapur railway division *

Bhusawal railway division Bhusawal railway division is one of the five railway divisions of the Central Railway (India) zone of Indian Railways, located at Bhusawal in the Jalgaon district of Maharashtra state in western India. The other railway divisions are: Mumbai CSM ...

* Pune railway division *

Nagpur CR railway division Nagpur CR railway division is one of the five railway divisions under Central Railway zone of Indian Railways. This railway division was formed in 1867 and its headquarter is located at Nagpur in the state of Maharashtra of India. It covers an E ...

Organisation

The central railway covers a large part of the state of Maharashtra and small part of Southern Madhya Pradesh and North-Eastern Karnataka. It is organized into five divisions: Mumbai,

Bhusawal Bhusawal is the largest municipal council (established in 1882) in the Jalgaon district of the Indian state of Maharashtra, situated along the banks of the river Tapi. The city emerged as a major railway junction during the British Raj, and sti ...

, Nagpur, Solapur and Pune. The details of the network divisionwise are as follows Central Railway Headquarters

Mumbai Division

* Mumbai CSMT-Dadar-Kurla-Thane ** Mumbai CSMT-Wadala Road-Kurla (

Harbour Line The Harbour line is a branch line of the Mumbai Suburban Railway operated by Central Railway. It was named so because it catered to the eastern neighbourhoods along the city's natural harbour. Its termini are Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Termin ...

) *** Wadala Road-Bandra-Goregaon (Inclusive) ** Kurla-Trombay (Goods) ** Kurla-Vashi-Nerul-Panvel (

) ** Thane-Vashi-Panvel (Trans-Harbour line) *** Thane-Turbhe-Vashi (

Trans-Harbour Line The Trans-Harbour line is the link Harbour line of the Mumbai Suburban Railway connects between Navi Mumbai and Thane Operates by Central Railway. Its Termini are , , and on the Thane–Vashi and Thane–Panvel Routes. This line is also a d ...

) *** Thane-Turbhe-Nerul (

) * Thane-Diva Jn-Kalyan ** Diva Jn-Panvel-Roha *** Panvel-Jasai-Uran **** Jasai-JNPT ** Diva Jn-Vasai Road * Kalyan Jn-Kasara-Igatpuri (Inclusive) * Kalyan Jn-Karjat Jn-Lonavala (Inclusive) ** Neral Jn-Matheran (Narrow Gauge) ** Karjat Jn-Panvel ** Karjat Jn-Khopoli Malshej Kriti Samiti is following for Kalyan-Ahmednagar railway project. Kalyan-Murbad section which is first phase of this project is already under survey stage.

Pune Division

* Lonavala- Pune Jn-

Daund Daund is a city, municipal council and headquarters of the Daund tehsil in the Pune district in the state of Maharashtra, India. In ancient times a sage, 'Dhaumya Rishi' used to stay here, hence people started calling this place after him: 'Dha ...

Jn * Pune Jn- Satara- Sangli- Miraj Jn-

Kolhapur Kolhapur () is a city on the banks of the Panchganga River in the southern part of the Indian state of Maharashtra. It is the administrative headquarter of the Kolhapur district. In, around 2 C.E. Kolapur's name was 'Kuntal'. Kolhapur is kn ...

Jn -

Baramati Baramati ( aːɾamət̪iː is a city, a tehsil and a municipal council in Pune district in the state of Maharashtra, India. The city is about 100 KM (62 miles) southeast of the city of Pune and about 250 KM from Mumbai. Baramati is located ...

* Phaltan - Baramati ( to be completed by 2022) * Pune Jn-

Rajgurunagar Rajgurunagar (Khed) is a census town in the Pune Metropolitan Region of the Indian state of Maharashtra. It is situated on the bank of river Bhima and Pune-Nasik National Highway It is the headquarters of Khed taluka in the Pune district. Ety ...

Sangamner Sangamner is a city and a municipal council located in the Ahmednagar District of Maharashtra state in India. It derives its name from the site of the ''sangam'' (confluence) of three rivers in the area: Pravara, Mhalungi, and Adhala. It is ...

Sinnar Sinnar (Pronunciation: inːəɾ is a city and a municipal council in Sinnar taluka of Nashik district in the Indian state of Maharashtra. Sinnar is the fourth largest city in Nashik district after Nashik, Malegaon and Manmad. History Tradi ...

Nashik Road Nashik Road (sometimes referred to as Nasik Road) is a suburb of Nashik that contains the city's railway station. The name 'Nashik Road' was originally used for the town surrounding the station (about 8 km or 5 miles southwest from the heart o ...

(Project Scrapped) *

Karad Karad is a city in Satara district of Indian state of Maharashtra and it is 320 km (180.19 miles) from Mumbai and 159 km from Pune. It lies at the confluence of Koyna River and the Krishna River known as the "Priti sangam". T ...

Chiplun Chiplun ( ͡ʃipɭuːɳ is a city in Ratnagiri district in the state of Maharashtra, India. It is the financial and commercial Hub of Ratnagiri, and the headquarters of Chiplun taluka. It is about 320 km south of Mumbai in the Konkan ...

(scrapped)

Nagpur Division

'' * Badnera Jn (Exclude)-

Pulgaon Pulgaon () is a municipal council in Wardha district in the India state of Maharashtra. The nearest city is Wardha, away via the Mumbai–Nagpur Expressway. Located near Pulgaon is the Central Ammunition Depot, a military area and the second ...

Jn-

Wardha Wardha is a city and a municipal council in Wardha district in the Indian state of Maharashtra. It is the administrative headquarters of Wardha district. Wardha gets its name from the Wardha River which flows at the north, west and south bound ...

Jn-

Butibori Butibori is an industrial suburb of Nagpur, India and is developed as 5 Star Industrial district by Maharashtra Industrial Development Corporation (MIDC). Butibori's total area acquired is 23.12 square kilometres out of which 14.94 km² ...

Jn- Nagpur Jn ** Pulgaon Jn- Arvi (Narrow Gauge) ** Butobori Jn- Umrer * Sewagram-

Majri Majri is a small size village in Kotkasim tehsil Alwar District in the state of Rajasthan, It is located around 75 km south of Delhi, 75 km north of Alwar, and about 200 km north of Jaipur, the capital of Rajasthan. MAJRI is part of ...

Jn- Tadali Jn-

Chandrapur Chandrapur (earlier known as ''Chanda'', the official name until 1964) is a city and a municipal corporation in Chandrapur district, Maharashtra state, India. It is the district headquarters of Chandrapur district. Chandrapur is a fort city ...

Balharshah Ballarpur (formerly Balharshah) is a city and a municipal council in Chandrapur district in the state of Maharashtra, India. It is the second largest city in the district. History In Sirpur, today in Telangana, where the king Surajā Ballālas ...

Jn (include) ** Wardha Jn-Chitoda Jn (on Sewagram-Balharshah line) *** Majri Jn- Wani Jn- pimpalkutti ** Wani Jn-

Rajur Rajur is a census town in Yavatmal district in the Indian state of Maharashtra. Rajur is also known as Rajur Colliery. Geography Rajur has an average elevation of 741 metres (2431 feet). Demographics India census, Rajur had a ...

** Tadali Jn- Ghugus ** Balharshah Jn-Chanda Fort * Nagpur- Amla Jn-

Itarsi Itarsi is a city and municipality in Madhya Pradesh, India in Narmadapuram District. Itarsi is a key hub for agricultural goods and is the biggest railway junction in Madhya Pradesh. Rail services from all 4 major metropolitan cities of India ...

Jn (exclude) ** Amla Junction-

Chhindwara , other_name = Corn city , nickname = , settlement_type = City , image_skyline = , image_alt = , image_caption = , p ...

(exclude) * Nagpur-

sevagram Sevagram (meaning "A town for/of service") is a town in the state of Maharashtra, India. It was the place of Mahatma Gandhi's ashram and his residence from 1936 to his death in 1948. After Sabarmati, Sevagram Ashram holds immense importance d ...

majri Majri is a small size village in Kotkasim tehsil Alwar District in the state of Rajasthan, It is located around 75 km south of Delhi, 75 km north of Alwar, and about 200 km north of Jaipur, the capital of Rajasthan. MAJRI is part of ...

jn Balharshah

Solapur Division

* Manmad (exclude)-

Ahmednagar Ahmednagar (), is a city located in the Ahmednagar district in the state of Maharashtra, India, about 120 km northeast of Pune and 114 km from Aurangabad. Ahmednagar takes its name from Ahmad Nizam Shah I, who founded the town in 1 ...

Jn * Daund Jn- Solapur * Miraj Jn (exclude)-Pandharpur-Kurudwadi Jn-Barshi-

Latur Latur(लातूर) is a city in Indian state of Maharashtra, and is one of the largest cities of the Marathwada region. It is the administrative headquarters of Latur district and Latur Taluka. The city is a tourist hub surrounded by many ...

-Latur Road (excluding) * SolapurJn- Hotgi Jn-

Gulbarga Kalaburagi, formerly known as Gulbarga, is a city in the Indian state of Karnataka. It is the administrative headquarters of the Kalaburagi district and is the largest city in the region of North Karnataka ( Kalyana-Karnataka). Kalaburagi is ...

-Wadi Jn (Include)

Bhusawal Division

* Manmad-Indore (project scrapped) * Bhusawal-Badnera-Nagpur (exclude) * Bhusawal-Khandwa-Itarsi (exclude) * Jalgaon-Nandurbar-Udhna (exclude) * Chalisgaon-Dhule * Khamgaon - Jalamb * Pachora-Jamner * Manmad-Aurangabad (exclude) * Manmad-Daund (exclude) * Mandmad-Nasik-Igatpuri (exclude) * Akola-Nanded (exclude) The number of stations category-wise under these five railway divisions under the Central Railway Zones are as follows (as of 2008) : A-1 : 7, A : 20, B : 10, C : 80, D : 45, E : 221, F : 93, Total : 476

Ongoing Projects

New lines

* SolapurJn -Tuljapur-

Osmanabad Osmanabad (; pronounced as ''Usmānābād''),is a city and a municipal council in Osmanabad district in the Indian state of Maharashtra. Osmanabad derives its name from the last ruler of Hyderabad, Mir Osman Ali Khan. Osmanabad city is the adm ...

. (New Rail Line survey completed but work yet to start) * Ashti-Parli Vaijnath line (work under progress). Ahmednagar-Ashti 67 km completed. (Project :- Ahmedanagar- Beed - Parli) * Phaltan - Baramati (New line with Electrification Project Approved,but work yet to start) * Kolhapur-Vaibhavwadi line (survey under progress) * Aurangabad-Shani shingnapur-Ahmednagar line ( Survey completed,but work yet to start) * Khamgaon-Jalna (survey completed, but work yet to start) * Latur-Latur Road-Ahmedpur-Nanded (survey completed, but work yet to start) * Latur Road-Jalkot-Mukhed-Biloli-Bodhan (announced but not yet taken up) * Latur-Ausa-Nilanga-Omerga-Aland-Gulbarga (survey under progress)

Doubling

* Bhigvan-Vakav (Earth work started) Solapur - Bhalwani doubling work completed * Tilati-Gulbarga (Earth work started) * Roha-Panvel (work completed) * Daund-Manmad (doubling in progress plus electrification) * Bhigvan-Solapur-Gulbarga * Pune-Miraj-Londa-Hubli (Doubling in progress) * Pune-Miraj-Kolhapur (Electrification 100% completed) * Panvel-Karjat * Karjat-Khopoli

Tripling

* Kalyan-Kasara * Kalyan-Karjat * Sewagram Jn-Balharshah Jn

Quadrupling

* Nagpur-Wardha * Jalgaon-Bhsawal * Manmad-Igatpuri

Hexupling

* Mumbai CSMT-Kalyan

Electrification

* Manmad-Daund (Electrification) (Work completed) * Bhigvan-Solapur-Gulbarga (Electrification) (Work is ongoing) * Kurduwadi-Barshi-Latur-Latur Road (Electrification) (Announced but not yet taken up) * Pune-Miraj-kolhapur (Electrification) (Work in progress)

Trains

Some of the major trains operated by Central Railway zone are as follows:

Loco Sheds

Electric Loco Shed, Ajni Electric Loco Shed, Ajni is a motive power depot performing locomotive maintenance and repair facility for electric locomotives of the Indian Railways, under its of the Central Railway division, located in , Nagpur in Maharashtra, India. It is ...

Electric Loco Shed, Kalyan Electric Loco Shed, Kalyan is an electric engine shed located in Kalyan in the Indian state of Maharashtra. Located north-east of Kalyan Junction railway station, it falls under the Mumbai CR railway division. History Electric Loco Shed Kal ...

Electric Loco Shed, Bhusawal Electric Loco Shed, Bhusawal is a motive power depot performing locomotive maintenance and repair facility for electric locomotives of the Indian Railways, located at Bhusawal of the Central Railway in Maharashtra, India. It is one of the thre ...

Diesel Loco Shed, Pune Diesel may refer to: * Diesel engine, an internal combustion engine where ignition is caused by compression * Diesel fuel, a liquid fuel used in diesel engines * Diesel locomotive, a railway locomotive in which the prime mover is a diesel engine ...

* Diesel Loco Shed, Kalyan * Diesel Loco Shed, Kurla * Electric Loco Shed Daund(Under Construction)

References

External links

Bhusawal Division

Central, Western and Harbour railway timetable

Detailed Mumbai Local Train Time Table

{{coord, 18, 58, 30, N, 72, 49, 33, E, display=title Zones of Indian Railways 1951 establishments in Bombay State

Railways Rail transport (also known as train transport) is a means of transport that transfers passengers and goods on wheeled vehicles running on rails, which are incorporated in tracks. In contrast to road transport, where the vehicles run on a prep ...