The Western Railway (abbreviated WR) is one of the 19 zones of

Indian Railways Indian Railways (IR) is a statutory body under the ownership of Ministry of Railways, Government of India that operates India's national railway system. It manages the fourth largest national railway system in the world by size, with a tota ...

and is among the busiest railway networks in India, headquartered at

Mumbai Mumbai (, ; also known as Bombay — List of renamed Indian cities and states#Maharashtra, the official name until 1995) is the capital city of the Indian States and union territories of India, state of Maharashtra and the ''de facto'' fin ...

, Maharashtra. The major railway routes of Indian Railways which come under Western Railways are:

Mumbai Central Mumbai Central (formerly Bombay Central, station code: MMCT) is a major railway station on the Western line, situated in Mumbai, Maharashtra in an area known by the same name. It serves as a major stop for both Local and Inter-City/Express tr ...

–

Ratlam Ratlam, known historically as Ratnapuri (lit. ''gem city''), is a city in the northwestern part of the Malwa region in Madhya Pradesh state of India. The city of Ratlam lies above sea level. It is the administrative headquarters of Ratlam di ...

, Mumbai Central– Ahmedabad and

Palanpur Palanpur is a city and a municipality of Banaskantha district in the Indian state of Gujarat. Palanpur is the administrative headquarters of Banaskantha district. Palanpur is the ancestral home to an industry of Indian diamond merchants. Ety ...

–Ahmedabad. The railway system is divided into six operating divisions: , , , , , and .

Vadodara railway station Vadodara Junction railway station (formerly Baroda City Junction, station code: BRC) is the main station in the Indian city of Vadodara, Gujarat. Due to its strategic location, it is the ninth-busiest railway station in India in terms of frequ ...

, being the junction point for the Ahmedabad–Mumbai route and the Mumbai–Ratlam route towards

New Delhi New Delhi (, , ''Naī Dillī'') is the capital of India and a part of the National Capital Territory of Delhi (NCT). New Delhi is the seat of all three branches of the government of India, hosting the Rashtrapati Bhavan, Parliament Ho ...

, is the busiest junction station in Western Railways and one of the busiest junctions of Indian Railways too, while Ahmedabad Division earns highest revenue followed by Mumbai Division and Vadodara Division.

Surat railway station Surat Railway Station (Code: ST) is a major railway station serving Surat, beside Gothangam, Kosad, , , , and . It is under the administrative control of the Western Railway zone of the Indian Railways. Surat is A1 – category railway station ...

is one of the busiest railway station in Western Railway in non-junction category where more than 180 trains pass per day. Western Railway General Manager's official bungalow 'Bombarci' (abbreviation of Bombay, Baroda and Central India) is located on Altamont road in Cumbala hill, Mumbai.

History

The Western Railway was created on 5 November 1951 by merging several state-owned railways, including the Bombay, Baroda and Central India Railway (BB&CI), and the

Saurashtra Railway Saurashtra Railway came into being in April, 1948 with the amalgamation of state railways like Bhavnagar State Railway, Gondal Railway, Porbandar Railway, Jamnagar & Dwarka Railway, Morvi Railway, Dhrangadhra Railway, Okhamandal State Rail ...

, Rajputana Railway and Jaipur State Railway. The

narrow-gauge A narrow-gauge railway (narrow-gauge railroad in the US) is a railway with a track gauge narrower than standard . Most narrow-gauge railways are between and . Since narrow-gauge railways are usually built with tighter curves, smaller structu ...

lines of

Cutch State Railway Cutch State Railway (CSR) was an isolated narrow gauge railway in Cutch State, one of the princely states allied to Britain in India. History The railway was financed by the Maharao Khengarji Bawa of Cutch State. The laying of first rails st ...

was also merged into it in 1951. The BB&CI Railway was itself inaugurated in 1855, starting with the construction of a 29-mile (47-km)

broad-gauge A broad-gauge railway is a railway with a track gauge (the distance between the rails) broader than the used by standard-gauge railways. Broad gauge of , commonly known as Russian gauge, is the dominant track gauge in former Soviet Union (CIS ...

track from

Ankleshwar Ankleshwar (sometimes written Ankaleshwar) is a city and a municipality in Bharuch district in the state of Gujarat, India. The city is located 14 kilometres from Bharuch. Ankleshwar Industrial Association (AIA) is the largest organisation of t ...

Utran UTRAN (short for "UMTS Terrestrial Radio Access Network''") is a collective term for the network and equipment that connects mobile handsets to the public telephone network or the Internet. It contains the base stations, which are called Node B' ...

Gujarat Gujarat (, ) is a state along the western coast of India. Its coastline of about is the longest in the country, most of which lies on the Kathiawar peninsula. Gujarat is the fifth-largest Indian state by area, covering some ; and the ninth ...

state on the west coast. In 1864, the railway was extended to

. Subsequently, the project was further extended beyond

Vadodara Vadodara (), also known as Baroda, is the second largest city in the Indian state of Gujarat. It serves as the administrative headquarters of the Vadodara district and is situated on the banks of the Vishwamitri River, from the state capita ...

in a north easterly direction towards Godhra,

Nagda Nagda is an industrial town in Ujjain district of the Indian state of Madhya Pradesh. It lies in the administrative headquarters of the city of Ujjain, in the Malwa region of western Madhya Pradesh. It is situated on the bank of the Chambal Riv ...

and thereafter northwards towards Kota and Mathura, to eventually link with the

Great Indian Peninsular 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 Term ...

, now the Central Railway, which had already started operating in Mumbai in 1853. In 1860 Surat railway station was built and it was first railway station in Asia which is having platform on first floor (above ground level). In 1883, a

metre-gauge railway Metre-gauge railways are narrow-gauge railways with track gauge of or 1 metre. The metre gauge is used in around of tracks around the world. It was used by European colonial powers, such as the French, British and German Empires. In Europe, la ...

system, initially linking Delhi with

Agra Agra (, ) is a city on the banks of the Yamuna river in the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh, about south-east of the national capital New Delhi and 330 km west of the state capital Lucknow. With a population of roughly 1.6 million, Agra i ...

Jaipur Jaipur (; Hindi: ''Jayapura''), formerly Jeypore, is the capital and largest city of the Indian state of Rajasthan. , the city had a population of 3.1 million, making it the tenth most populous city in the country. Jaipur is also known ...

and

Ajmer Ajmer is one of the major and oldest cities in the Indian state of Rajasthan and the centre of the eponymous Ajmer District. It is located at the centre of Rajasthan. It is also known as heart of Rajasthan. The city was established as "' ...

, was established. The first suburban service in

with steam traction was introduced in April 1867. It was extended to Churchgate in 1870. By 1900 45 trains in each direction were carrying over one million passengers annually. The railways of several princely states were also integrated into the Western Railway. The Gaekwars of

Baroda Vadodara (), also known as Baroda, is the second largest city in the Indian state of Gujarat. It serves as the administrative headquarters of the Vadodara district and is situated on the banks of the Vishwamitri River, from the state capital ...

built the

Gaekwar's Baroda State Railway Gaekwar's Baroda State Railway (GBSR) or Gaikwad Baroda State Railway was a narrow gauge railway line owned by the Princely State of Baroda, which was ruled by the Gaekwar dynasty. History The railway track has the distinction of being the fir ...

(GBSR), which was merged into the BB&CI in 1949. Several railways of western Gujarat, including the Bhavnagar,

Kathiawar Kathiawar () is a peninsula, near the far north of India's west coast, of about bordering the Arabian Sea. It is bounded by the Gulf of Kutch in the northwest and by the Gulf of Khambhat (Gulf of Cambay) in the east. In the northeast, it is ...

, Jamnagar &

Dwarka Dwarka () is a city and a municipality of Devbhumi Dwarka district in the state of Gujarat in Western India. It is located on the western shore of the Okhamandal Peninsula on the right bank of the Gomti river at the mouth of the Gulf of Kut ...

, Gondal, and Morvi railways were merged into the

in 1948. The Jodhpur–Bikaner Railway was taken over by

Rajasthan Rajasthan (; lit. 'Land of Kings') is a state in northern India. It covers or 10.4 per cent of India's total geographical area. It is the largest Indian state by area and the seventh largest by population. It is on India's northwestern s ...

state in 1949, after the western portion was ceded to the government of Pakistan. In 2002, the Jaipur and Ajmer divisions of the Western Railway became part of the newly created North Western Railway, and in April 2003 the Kota division of the Western Railway became part of the newly created West Central Railway.

Present

Western Railway headquarters is in

's Churchgate station and serves the entire state of

, some portions of Western

Madhya Pradesh Madhya Pradesh (, ; meaning 'central province') is a state in central India. Its capital is Bhopal, and the largest city is Indore, with Jabalpur, Ujjain, Gwalior, Sagar, and Rewa being the other major cities. Madhya Pradesh is the seco ...

, and coastal Maharashtra. The Western coast of India served by Western Railway has a number of ports, most important among them being Kandla, Hajira, Surat,

Dahej Dahej is a cargo port situated on the South-west coast of Gujarat, India in Bharuch district. There is 17.5 million tonnes per year capacity LNG terminal operated by Petronet in Dahej. Port Information General The Port of Dahej is located in ...

, Mundra, Okha,

Veraval Veraval also known as Somnath is a municipality and the headquarters of Gir Somnath district in the Indian state of Gujarat. It is also known for the hub of fishing industries in India. Geography Veraval is located at . It has an average ele ...

, Porbandar, Bhavnagar in Gujarat state and

in Maharashtra.

Navapur railway station Navapur railway station is located on Gujarat–Maharashtra state border in Navapur town of Nandurbar district, Maharashtra. Its code is NWU. It has three platforms. Passenger, MEMU, Express and Superfast trains halt here. About Navapur * Na ...

is unique as it falls in both the states of

and Maharashtra because both were as a one state of Bombay State before 1960 and after States Reorganization Act the Navapur station was divided equally among Gujarat and Maharashtra. So is the Surat railway station unique. It is Asia's one of the first railway station where the platforms is on the first floor, that is above the ground level. The ticket counter is on the ground floor. The Western Railway operates Electric multiple units (EMUs) on the Western line of the

Mumbai Suburban Railway The Mumbai Suburban Railway ( Marathi: मुंबई उपनगरीय रेल्वे) (colloquially called local trains or simply locals) consists of exclusive inner suburban railway lines augmented by commuter rail on main lines ser ...

, which forms part of the Ahmedabad–Mumbai main line. The EMUs ply between Churchgate and

Virar Virar (Pronunciation: �iɾaɾ is a coastal city in taluka Vasai and district of Palghar, India. It is clubbed into Vasai-Virar city, administered by Vasai-Virar Municipal Corporation. It lies in south part of Palghar District in Vasai Talu ...

(60 km) and is projected to extend the service until

Dahanu Road Dahanu Road is a railway station near the town of Dahanu in Palghar district of Maharashtra. It lies on the Western line of the Mumbai Suburban Railway network. It is the northern limit of the Suburban network, although the track continues north ...

(Services actually started on 16 April 2013), while mainline electrical multiple units (MEMUs) service the section beyond Virar until Dahanu Road (60 km). EMUs are of 12-car or 15-car rakes and are differentiated as slow and fast locals. Slow trains halt at all stations, while fast ones halt at important stations only and are preferable over longer distances. The first electric train on this section was introduced in 1928 between Churchgate and Andheri.

Divisions

* Mumbai WR railway division * Ahmedabad railway division * Vadodara railway division * Ratlam railway division * Rajkot railway division * Bhavnagar railway division

Western Railway Connects Statue of Unity

On 17 January 2021, the Statue of Unity came on the railways map. Western Railway connected the Statue of Unity with Broad Gauge electrified line with Mumbai- Delhi main line at Vadodara. The project included gauge conversion of Dabhoi-Chandod section, new line from Chandod to Kevadiya(Statue of Unity) and electrification of Pratapnagar(Vadodara) to Kevadiya. The project was completed in a record time in close coordination with state government by Western Railway. It was inaugurated by Shri Narendra Modi, Prime Minister through video conferencing from New Delhi. 8 inaugural trains were flagged off from various parts of the country on same day. Vistadome coach has been introduced in Ahmedabad-Kevadiya Janshatabdi express. Kevadiya1.jpg, Kevadiya Station Building, Rail Connectivity to Statue of Unity Vistadome.jpg, Vistadome Coach of Kevadiya-Ahmedabad Janshatabdi Express

Heritage Gallery, Mumbai

Conserving heritage, Western Railway has opened Heritage Gallery at its headquarters building at Churchgate, Mumbai. The Gallery has recently been renovated. It is a collection of various models of BB&CI era, the precursor of Western Railway. Many notes of agents of BB&CI dating back to 1860s have also been displayed. Suburban timetable of 1948, steam engine model, signalling equipment, Model of 1928 EMUs, working model of Auxiliary Warning System, etc. have been beautifully displayed.
Heritage Gallery 01.jpg, A view of Heritage Gallery, at Western Railway Headquarters, Churchgate, Mumbai Heritage Gallery 02.jpg, Heritage Gallery of Western Railway at Churchgate, Mumbai Heritage Gallery 03.jpg, Artifacts displayed in the gallery Heritage Gallery 04.jpg, Model of steam engine on display The gallery gives an insight about the development of lines on Western Region of India. The BB&CI map dating back to 1930s shows us that the Western line started from Mumbai via Vadodara, Ratlam connected GIP Railway at Mathura to reach Delhi and further Peshawar. The ''Frontier Mail'' (''Golden Temple Mail'') used to run up to Peshawar. The Gallery is open for public free of cost during working hours and on special occasions.

Major routes

Major stations

Loco sheds

Electric Loco Shed, Vadodara Electric Loco Shed, Vadodara is an electric engine shed located in Vadodara, in the Indian state of Gujarat. It is located to south of Vadodara railway station, it falls under the Vadodara railway division of Western Railway. It is the largest ...

Electric Loco Shed, Valsad Electric Loco Shed, Valsad is an electric engine shed located in Valsad, in the Indian state of Gujarat. It is located to south of Valsad railway station, it falls under the Mumbai WR railway division of Western Railway. It is the largest of lo ...

* Diesel Loco Shed, Vatva * Diesel Loco Shed, Sabarmati * Diesel Loco Shed, Ratlam * Diesel Loco Shed, Gandhidham * Diesel Loco Shed, Mhow (NG loco shed) * Diesel Loco Shed, Pratapnagar (NG loco shed)

References

External links

Official site

Western railway Suburban Timetable (Mumbai Zone) 2017 Edition

Detailed Mumbai Local Train Time Table

Detailed Mumbai Local Train Time Table (Mobile)

Official Western Railway Mumbai Suburban Timetables
{{Railways in Western India 1951 establishments in Bombay State Zones of Indian Railways