Central Railway (abbreviated CR) is one of the 19 zones of

Indian Railways Indian Railways is a state-owned enterprise that is organised as a departmental undertaking of the Ministry of Railways (India), Ministry of Railways of the Government of India and operates India's national railway system. , it manages the fou ...

. Its headquarters are located at

Mumbai Mumbai ( ; ), also known as Bombay ( ; its official name until 1995), is the capital city of the Indian state of Maharashtra. Mumbai is the financial capital and the most populous city proper of India with an estimated population of 12 ...

. It has the distinction of operating the first passenger railway line in

India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...

, which opened from

Thane Thane (; previously known as Thana, List of renamed Indian cities and states#Maharashtra, the official name until 1996) is a metropolitan city located on the northwestern side of the list of Indian states, state of Maharashtra in India and on ...

on .

History

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

Gwalior Gwalior (Hindi: , ) is a major city in the central Indian state of Madhya Pradesh; It is known as the Music City of India having oldest Gwalior gharana, musical gharana in existence. It is a major sports, cultural, industrial, and political c ...

, Nizam State Railway, Wardha Coal State Railway and the Dholpur State Railway.Rao, M.A. (1988). ''Indian Railways'', New Delhi: National Book Trust, p.42 The Central Railway zone formerly included large parts of

Madhya Pradesh Madhya Pradesh (; ; ) is a state in central India. Its capital is Bhopal and the largest city is Indore, Indore. Other major cities includes Gwalior, Jabalpur, and Sagar, Madhya Pradesh, Sagar. Madhya Pradesh is the List of states and union te ...

and part of southern

Uttar Pradesh Uttar Pradesh ( ; UP) is a States and union territories of India, state in North India, northern India. With over 241 million inhabitants, it is the List of states and union territories of India by population, most populated state in In ...

, 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 The West Central Railway (abbreviated WCR), one of the 19 zones of the Indian Railways, came into existence on 1 April 2003. It is headquartered at Jabalpur. It was created by taking away two divisions namely Bhopal division and Jabalpur divi ...

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 Lines in the Central Railway zone

* Howrah–Nagpur–Mumbai line (upto Nagpur Jn.) * Mumbai–Chennai line (upto Wadi Jn.) * Howrah–Prayagraj–Mumbai line (upto Khandwa Jn.) * New Delhi–Chennai line (from Itarsi Jn. to Ballarshah) * Pune–Miraj–Londa line (upto Miraj Jn.) * Mumbai-Diva-Panvel-Roha line 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 the project stalled. The alignment length of this project was 184 km, and it could have been the shortest route for Marathwada, Andhra Pradesh and Telangana. The major challenge for this project is 18.96 km long tunnel in the Malshej Ghat section. Malshej Kruti Samiti is pursuing for Kalyan-Ahmednagar railway project. The Kalyan-Murbad section, which is the first phase of this project, is already under survey stage.

Branch lines of the Central Railway zone

Vasai Road–Roha line The Vasai Road–Roha line of the Mumbai Suburban Railway is a public transit system. It connects the northern suburbs of Mumbai with Navi Mumbai and Roha on the Konkan Railway. The Vasai Road–Roha line connects the Western line station of Vas ...

* Harbour line (Mumbai Suburban Railway) * Trans-Harbour line (Mumbai Suburban Railway) * Port line (Mumbai Suburban Railway) * Panvel-Karjat branch line * Panvel-JNPT branch line * Karjat-Khopoli branch line (part of Mumbai Suburban railway) * Daund-Manmad branch line * Chalisgaon-Dhule branch line * Manmad-Secunderabad branch line * Daund-Baramati branch line * Puntamba-Shirdi branch line * Ahmadnagar-Beed-Parli Vaijnath branch line (operational upto Amalner Bhandyache as of May 2025) * Lonand-Phaltan branch line * Miraj-Kolhapur branch line * Miraj-Kurduwadi branch line * Kurduwadi-Latur Road branch line * Jalamb-Khamgaon branch line * Badnera-Narkhed branch line * Badnera-Amravati branch line * Wardha-Yavatmal-Nanded branch line (operational only upto Kalamb as of June 2025) * Amla-Chhindwara branch line (excluding Chhindwara Jn.)

Connections

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

Western Railway Zone

Mumbai WR division *

Mahim Mahim (, ) is a neighbourhood in Mumbai, Maharashtra, India. The Mahim Junction railway station on the Western Railway zone, Western Railway and Harbour line (Mumbai Suburban Railway), Harbour Railway of the Mumbai Suburban Railway, Mumbai Suburb ...

Dadar Dadar (Help:IPA/Marathi, ̪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. It is Mumbai's first planned area and i ...

Vasai Road Vasai Road Junction (station code: BSR) is a railway station on the Western line (Mumbai Suburban Railway), Western line and Vasai Road–Roha line of the Mumbai Suburban Railway network. Vasai is a historical suburban town north of Mumbai a ...

* Jalgaon Junction

Konkan Railway Zone

* Roha

South Central Railway zone

= Secunderabad railway division

= * Balharshah * Latur Road

= Guntakal Railway Division

= * Wadi Jn

= Nanded railway division

= * Pimpal Khuti * Akola Jn * Khandwa Jn * Ankai Jn (Manmad-Secunderabad)

South East Central Railway zone

= Nagpur SEC railway division

= * Nagpur Jn * Chhindwara Jn

South Western Railway zone

= Hubballi railway division

= * Hotgi Jn - For

Pune Pune ( ; , ISO 15919, ISO: ), previously spelled in English as Poona (List of renamed Indian cities and states#Maharashtra, the official name until 1978), is a city in the state of Maharashtra in the Deccan Plateau, Deccan plateau in Western ...

Solapur Solapur () is a city located in the south-western region of the States and Territories of India, Indian state of Maharashtra, close to its border with Karnataka. Solapur is located on major highway, rail routes between Mumbai, Pune, Bangalore ...

Vijayapura Vijayapur is a town in Devanahalli taluk and Bangalore Rural district in the Indian state of Karnataka. Vijayapura's old name is Vadigenahalli. Local villagers still refer Vijayapura as Vadigenahalli. Climate Vijayapura is ranked among top ...

Gadag Gadaga-Betageri is a city municipal council in Gadag district in the state of Karnataka, India. It is the administrative headquarters of Gadag District. The original city of Gadag and its sister city Betageri (or ''Betgeri'') have a combined ...

line. * Miraj Jn - For

Miraj Miraj (Pronunciation: iɾəd͡z ) is a city that is part of the Sangli-Miraj-Kupwad metropolitan region in Sangli district, Maharashtra. Founded in the early 10th century, Miraj was an important jagir of the Bijapur Sultanate. Chhatrapa ...

- Londa-

Bangalore Bengaluru, also known as Bangalore (List of renamed places in India#Karnataka, its official name until 1 November 2014), is the Capital city, capital and largest city of the southern States and union territories of India, Indian state of Kar ...

line

Western Central Railway zone

= Bhopal division

= * Itarsi Jn * Khandwa Jn

Matheran Hill Railway

Constructed in 1907, the

narrow-gauge A narrow-gauge railway (narrow-gauge railroad in the US) is a railway with a track gauge (distance between the rails) narrower than . Most narrow-gauge railways are between and . Since narrow-gauge railways are usually built with tighter curv ...

Matheran Hill Railway connects Neral on the

Chennai Chennai, also known as Madras (List of renamed places in India#Tamil Nadu, its official name until 1996), is the capital city, capital and List of cities in Tamil Nadu by population, largest city of Tamil Nadu, the southernmost states and ...

main line with the

hill station A hill station is a touristic town located at a higher elevation than the nearby plain or valley. The English term was originally used mostly in Western imperialism in Asia, colonial Asia, but also in Africa (albeit rarely), for towns founded by ...

Matheran Matheran is a partially automobile free hill station and a municipal council in the Karjat, Karjat taluka of the Raigad district located in the Indian States and territories of India, state of Maharashtra. Matheran is part of the Mumbai Metropo ...

in the Western Ghats, east of

. Neral is linked to

Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Terminus Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus (CST), officially Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Terminus (CSMT), also known sometimes as Victoria Terminus (VT), is a historic railway terminus and UNESCO World Heritage Site in Mumbai, Maharashtra, India. The term ...

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 *

Pune railway division Pune railway division is one of the five railway divisions under the jurisdiction of Central Railway zone of the Indian Railways. It has its headquarters located at Pune in the Indian state of Maharashtra state. The other railway divisions are M ...

* Nagpur CR railway division

Organisation

The central railway covers a large part of the state of

Maharashtra Maharashtra () is a state in the western peninsular region of India occupying a substantial portion of the Deccan Plateau. It is bordered by the Arabian Sea to the west, the Indian states of Karnataka and Goa to the south, Telangana to th ...

and small part of Southern

and North-Eastern

Karnataka Karnataka ( ) is a States and union territories of India, state in the southwestern region of India. It was Unification of Karnataka, formed as Mysore State on 1 November 1956, with the passage of the States Reorganisation Act, 1956, States Re ...

. It is organized into five divisions:

Bhusawal Bhusawal is a city in the Jalgaon district of Maharashtra, India. Situated along the Tapti River, it lies between the Satpura Range and the Ajanta range, Ajanta Hills of the Deccan Plateau, Deccan plateau. The city is a significant hub for the ...

Nagpur Nagpur (; ISO 15919, ISO: ''Nāgapura'') is the second capital and third-largest city of the Indian state of Maharashtra. It is called the heart of India because of its central geographical location. It is the largest and most populated city i ...

and

. The details of the network by division are as follows Central Railway Headquarters

Mumbai Division

* Mumbai CSMT-Dadar-Kurla-Thane ** Mumbai CSMT-Wadala Road-Kurla ( Harbour Line) *** Wadala Road-Bandra-Goregaon (Inclusive) ** Kurla-Trombay (Goods) ** Kurla-Vashi-Nerul-Panvel ( Harbour Line) ** Thane-Vashi-Panvel (Trans-Harbour line) *** Thane-Turbhe-Vashi ( Trans-Harbour Line) *** Thane-Turbhe-Nerul ( Trans-Harbour Line) * 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 Lonavala-Khandala is a hill station and a Municipal Council in the Pune district, Maharashtra, India. It is about west of Pune and to the east of Mumbai. It is known for its production of the hard candy '' chikki'' and is also a major stop on t ...

Jn- Daund Jn * Pune Jn- Satara -Karad-

Sangli Sangli (ISO 15919, ISO: ''Sāṁgalī''; ) is a metropolitan town and the headquarters of Sangli District in Maharashtra, in south-western India. It has earned the nickname "Turmeric City of India" for being the hub of the Asia's largest produ ...

Jn-

Kolhapur Kolhapur () is a city on the banks of the Panchganga River in the southern part of the Indian state of Maharashtra. Kolhapur is one of the most significant cities in South Maharashtra and has been a hub of historical, religious, and cultural a ...

* Daund Jn -

Baramati Baramati (Help:IPA/Marathi, 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 M ...

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

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: the Pravara, Mhalungi, and Adhala. Sa ...

- Sinnar- Nashik Road (Project Scrapped) *

Karad Karad is a city in Satara district of Indian States and territories of India, state of Maharashtra. It is located 302 km (180.19 miles) from Mumbai, 74 km from Sangli and 162 km from Pune. It lies at the confluence of Koyna R ...

Chiplun Chiplun ( Help:IPA/Marathi, ͡ʃipɭuːɳ is a city in Ratnagiri district in the state of Maharashtra, India. It is one of the financial and commercial hubs of Ratnagiri district, and the headquarters of Chiplun taluka. It is about 250 ...

(scrapped)

Nagpur Division

* Badnera Jn (Exclude)-

Pulgaon Pulgaon is a municipal council in Wardha district in the India States and territories of India, state of Maharashtra. The nearest city is Wardha, away via the Mumbai–Nagpur Expressway. History Pulgaon was created as a municipality in 1901Th ...

Jn- Wardha Jn- Butibori Jn-

Jn ** Pulgaon Jn- Arvi (narrow-gauge) ** Butobori Jn- Umrer * Sewagram- Majri Jn- Tadali Jn- Chandrapur- Balharshah Jn (include) ** Wardha Jn-Chitoda Jn (on Sewagram-Balharshah line) *** Majri Jn- Wani Jn-

pimpalkutti Pimpalkutti is a village and a railway station in Yavatmal district of Maharashtra State in India. This is the last village and last railway station in Maharashtra on NH7 and Nagpur Nagpur (; ISO 15919, ISO: ''Nāgapura'') is the second c ...

** Wani Jn- Rajur ** Tadali Jn- Ghugus ** Balharshah Jn-Chanda Fort * Nagpur- Amla Jn- Itarsi Jn (exclude) ** Amla Junction-

Chhindwara Chhindwara is a major city in India and a Municipal Corporation in the Chhindwara district in the Indian state of Madhya Pradesh. The city is the administrative headquarters of Chhindwara District. Chhindwara is reachable by rail or road fro ...

(exclude)

Solapur Division

* Manmad (exclude)-

Ahmednagar Ahmednagar, officially Ahilyanagar, is a city in, and the headquarters of, the Ahmednagar district, Maharashtra, India. Ahmednagar has several dozen buildings and sites from the Nizam Shahi period. Ahmednagar Fort, once considered almost impre ...

- Daund Jn * Daund Jn-

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

Latur Latur (ISO: ''Lātūra''; formerly Ratnapur) is a city located in the Marathwada region of Maharashtra state of India country. Before 1982 Latur was a part of the Osmanabad district (now Dharashiv). The city is a tourist hub surrounded by many ...

-Latur Road (excluding) *

Jn- Hotgi Jn-

Gulbarga Kalaburagi, formerly known as Gulbarga, is a city in the Indian state of Karnataka, It is headquarters of eponymous Kalaburagi district and Kalaburagi division, Kalaburagi city is governed by a Municipal Corporation, It is called a Sufi c ...

-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

Jn -Tuljapur-

Osmanabad Osmanabad, officially known as Dharashiv, is a city and a municipal council in Osmanabad district in the Indian States and territories of India, state of Maharashtra. The city is the administrative headquarter of Osmanabad district. It is the ...

. (New Rail Line survey completed but work yet to start) * Nanded - Yavatmal - Wardha. (Work under process) * Ashti-Parli Vaijnath line (work under progress). Ahmednagar-Ashti 67 km completed. (Project :- Ahmedanagar- Beed - Parli) * Phaltan - Baramati (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-Gulbarga (Doubling completed) * Pune-Miraj-Londa-Hubli (Doubling in progress) * Panvel-Karjat * Karjat-Khopoli

Tripling

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

Quadrupling

* Nagpur-Wardha * Manmad-Igatpuri

Hexupling

* Mumbai CSMT-Kalyan

Trains

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

Loco sheds

* Electric Loco Shed, Ajni * Electric Loco Shed, Kalyan * Electric Loco Shed, Bhusawal * Diesel Loco Shed, Pune * Diesel Loco Shed, Kalyan * Diesel Loco Shed, Kurla * Electric Loco Shed, Daund

References

External links

Bhusawal Division
*

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 using wheeled vehicles running in tracks, which usually consist of two parallel steel rails. Rail transport is one of the two primary means of land transport, next to roa ...