Charni Road railway station

Churney Road, (station code: CYR)^[2] is a railway station on the Western Line of the Mumbai Suburban Railway. It serves the suburb of Charni Road. The next station south is Marine Lines Station; the next station north is Grant Road Station. Southbound fast locals stop at Charni Road but skip the station during the evening peak hours (17:00 to 20:00). The main significance of Charni Road station is that it is near the Girgaum Chowpatty 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 and Prasad chambers building near the railway station.

Charni Road
Mumbai Suburban Railway station
General information
Coordinates	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
Status	Active
Station code	CYR
Fare zone	Western Railways
History
Opened	3 September 1868[1]
Electrified	Yes
Services
Preceding station Mumbai Suburban Railway Following station Marine Lines towards Churchgate Western line Grant Road towards Dahanu Road
Route map Legend Ahmedabad–Mumbai main line Dahanu Road Vangaon Boisar Umroli Palghar Kelve Road Saphale Vaitarna River Vaitarna Virar Nallasopara Vasai Road Central line and Vasai Road - Roha line Naigaon Vasai Creek Bhayandar Mira Road Dahisar Dahisar River Borivali Kandivli Malad planned extension to Borivali Goregaon Ram Mandir Jogeshwari Andheri Line 1 Vile Parle Sahar Airport Santacruz Sahar Airport Khar Road Bandra Mithi River Mahim Harbour line Matunga Road Central line Dadar planned Monorail Prabhadevi Parel Central line Lower Parel Mahalaxmi Line 3 Mumbai Central Line 3 Grant Road Line 3 Charni Road Marine Lines Churchgate Line 3
Location Charni Road Location within Mumbai

History

The word 'Charni' is derived from the Marathi word 'Charne' (to graze), as the area was once used as a grazing ground for cattle and horses.^[3] 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.^[4] In time the area became 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.^[5]

Surroundings

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. It is not only famous for skyscrapers and Chowpatty but also attracts crowds because of the religious places built in it (Mumbadevi temple) and also the famous celebration of Gudipadva and Ganesh Chaturthi festival in Girgaon. Also the famous Hinduja College of commerce and economics have been set up by Hinduja group in 1974.

For information about the area, see Charni Road.

Gallery

• 
  Charni Rd station
• 
  Charni Rd platform board

References

1. Jhingron, A.K (2009). Heritage, Traditions, and Legends. Western Railways. p. 210.
2. D'Cunha, Jose Gerson (1900). "IV The Portuguese Period". The Origins of Bombay (3 ed.). Bombay: Asian Educational Services. p. 212. ISBN 81-206-0815-1. Retrieved 29 December 2008.
3. "As recent demands in Mumbai show, battles over station names never seem to end". The Economic Times. Retrieved 17 March 2017.
4. Aklekar, Rajendra (2014). Halt Station India : The Dramatic Tale of the Nation's First Rail Lines. Rupa Publications. p. 160. ISBN 978-81-291-3497-4.
5. Eastern Economist. Vol. 64. R.P. Agarwala. 1975. p. 170.