Central Railway (India)

The Central Railway is one of the largest of the 16 zones of Indian Railways. Its headquarters is in Mumbai at Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus (formerly Victoria Terminus). It includes the first passenger railway line in India, which opened from Bombay to Thane on April 16 1853.

The central railway covers a large part of the state of Maharashtra and parts of North-Eastern Karnataka and Southern Madhya Pradesh.

The railway was formed on November 5 1951 by grouping several government-owned railways, including the Great Indian Peninsula Railway, and the Scindia State Railway of the former princely state of Gwalior.

The Central Railway zone formerly included northern Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh states 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.

To find out more about Central Railway please contact CPRO, Central Railway, CST Mumbai.

Major Routes of Central Railway

* Mumbai CST - Dadar - Kurla - Kalyan - Manmad - Bhusawal - Wardha - Nagpur
** Nagpur-Amla-Itarsi
** Bhusawal-Khandwa
** Wardha-Ballarsha
* Kalyan - Neral - Lonavala - Pune - Daund - Solapur - Wadi
** Pune-Miraj-Kolhapur
** Daund-Manmad

Connections

Central railway zone connects to other Zones of Indian railways as at
* Vasai Road Jn(WR) to Mumbai WR railway division of Western Railway Zone,
* Roha to Konkan Railway
* Mamnad Jn to Nanded railway division of South Central Railway Zone,
* Jalgaon Jn to Mumbai WR railway division of Western Railway Zone,
* Khandwa Jn to Bhopal railway division of Western Central Railway Zone
* Khandwa Jn to Nanded railway division of South Central Railway Zone for Meter Gauge
* Akola Jn to Nanded railway division of South Central Railway Zone for Meter Gauge
* Nagpur Jn to Nagpur SEC railway division of South East Central Railway Zone
* Itarsi Jn(WCR) to Bhopal division of Western Central Railway Zone,
* Chhindwara(SECR) to Nagpur SEC railway division of South East Central Railway Zone
* Ballarshah to Secundarabad railway division of South Central Railway Zone
* Pimpalkutti to Nanded railway division of South Central Railway Zone
* Wadi Jn to Secundarabad railway division of South Central Railway Zone
* Wadi Jn to Guntakal railway division of South Central Railway Zone
* Hotgi Jn to Hubli railway division of South Western Railway Zone
* Miraj Jn to Hubli railway division of South Western Railway Zone

Neral Matheran Line

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.

Divisions of Central Railway

It is organized into five divisions: Mumbai CST, Bhusawal, Nagpur, Solapur and Pune. The details of the network divisionwise are as follows [ [http://www.centralrailwayonline.com/crnet.jsp cnt-rly ] ]

Mumbai Division

* Mumbai CST-Dadar-Kurla
**Mumbai CST - Wadala Road- Kurla (Harbour Line)
***Wadala - Kings Circle - Mahin Jn - Bandra (Harbour Line)
**Kurla - Trombay(Goods)
**Kurla - Mankhud - Vashi - Nerul - Belapur - Panvel
***Sanpada - Airoli - Thane
*Kurla-Thane-Diva Jn- Kalyan
** Diva Jn-Panvel-Roha
***Panvel-Jasai-Uran
****Jasai-JNPT
** Diva Jn- Vasai Road
*Kalyan Jn-Kasara-Igatpuri (Inclusive)
* Kalyan Jn-Neral Jn-Karjat Jn-Lonavala (Inclusive)
**Neral Jn - Matheran (Narrow Gauge)
**Karjat Jn-Panvel
**Karjat Jn-Khopoli

=Bhusawal Division=

*Igatpuri (Exclude)-Manmad Jn-Chalisgaon Jn-Pachora Jn-Jalgaon Jn-Bhusawal Jn
**Chalisgaon Jn- Dhule
**Pachora Jn- Jamner (Narrow Gauge)
*Bhusawal-Burhanpur-Khandwa (Include)
*Bhusawal-Jalamb Jn-Akola-Murtajapur Jn-Badnera Jn(Include)
**Jalamb Jn-Khamgaon
**Murtajapur Jn-Yavatmal (Narrow Gauge)
**Murtajapur Jn-Achalpur (Narrow Gauge)
**Badnera Jn-Amravati

Nagpur Division

*Badnera Jn(Exclude)- Pulgaon Jn - Wardha Jn - Butibori Jn-Nagpur Jn
**Pulgaon Jn-Arvi (Narrow Gauge)
**Butobori Jn - Umrer
*Wardha Jn- Majri Jn - Tadali Jn - Chandrapur-Ballarshah Jn(Include)
**Majri Jn - Wani Jn - Rajur
***Wani Jn - Pimpalkutti
**Tadali Jn - Ghugus
**Ballarshah Jn - Chanda Fort
*Nagpur-Amla Jn-Itarsi Jn(exclude)
**Amla Junction-Chhindwara(exclude)

olapur Division

*Manmad(exclude)-Ahmednagar-Daund Jn
*Daund Jn - Kurudwadi Jn - Solapur
**Kurudwadi Jn- Pandharpur
** Kurudwadi Jn-Latur (Gauge Conversion NG-to-BG)
*Solapur - Hotgi Jn - Gulburga - Wadi Jn (Include)

Pune Division

*Lonavala (exclude)-Pune Jn-Daund Jn(exclude)
** Daund Jn(exclude) - Baramati
*Pune Jn - Satara - Sangli - Miraj Jn - Kolhapur
**Miraj Jn - Pandharpur (Gauge Conversion NG-to-BG) [ [http://www.crconstruction.org/project.asp Welcome to Central Railways - Construction > Projects ] ]

Notable Trains

* Deccan Queen - Pune to Mumbai, pride of the Central Railway
* Vidarbha Express - Mumbai to Nagpur
* Gitanjali Express - Mumbai to Kolkata
* Punjab Mail - Mumbai to Ferozpur
* Hussainsagar Express - Mumbai to Hyderabad
* Pushpak Express - Mumbai to Lucknow
* Azad Hind Express - Pune to Kolkata
* Kurla Express - Coimbatore to Lokamanya Tilak
* Konark Express - Bhubaneshwar to Mumbai
* Maharastra Express - Kolahpur to Gondia

"( See Also- Trains of CR)"

Projects

New line

*Amravati-Narkher
*Ahmednagar-Parli Vaidynath
*Puntamba-Shirdi
*Lonand-Phaltan-Baramati

Doubling

*Solapur-Mohol(Doubling)

Conversion

*Kurduvadi-Latur(NG to BG)
*Miraj-Pandharpur(NG to BG)

ee also

* [http://www.mumbai77.com/City_Info_Guide/Central_TimeTable.html CENTRAL Railway local Train Timetable]
* Mumbai suburban railway
* Harbour line

External links

* [http://www.bhusawalrail.gov.in/ Bhusawal Division]

References