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Prabhadevi railway station, formerly Elphinstone Road railway station, is a railway station junction which connects the Central line to of Mumbai Suburban Railway. It serves the area of
Prabhadevi Prabhadevi (Pronunciation: ɾəbʱaːd̪eʋiː is a prominent residential and religious neighborhood in South Mumbai, Maharashtra, India. It is known for its mix of high-end residential buildings, cultural landmarks, and historical significan ...
in
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 ...
, India. This railway station has two platforms which are of only slow trains halt.


History

The railway station on the
Prabhadevi Prabhadevi (Pronunciation: ɾəbʱaːd̪eʋiː is a prominent residential and religious neighborhood in South Mumbai, Maharashtra, India. It is known for its mix of high-end residential buildings, cultural landmarks, and historical significan ...
side was inaugurated in 1867 which was named Elphinstone Road railway station (with station code EPR) after John, 13th Lord Elphinstone, the
Governor of Bombay Until the 18th century, Bombay consisted of seven islands separated by shallow sea. These seven islands were part of a larger archipelago in the Arabian sea, off the western coast of India. The date of city's founding is unclear—historians tr ...
from 1853 to 1860. The station formerly existed as two stations, being a quarter of a mile apart, and each station had its own issuing and collecting staff. Passengers heading in towards the south were served by the Up platform that was connected to the Caroll road over bridge (now commonly called, the Elphinstone RoB) through a staircase. Those heading northward were served by the Down platform that led to a road on the western side. When a new station was opened, this queer case was resolved. This new station built on the location of the old Up platform, which was widened and extended becoming the present island platform of the station. There was a provision of a staircase on each side, and an elevated booking office was built in level with the bridge. Passengers entered the station, passing by the booking office, and descending down the stairs. Those leaving the station would ascend the stairway on the other side, onto the RoB. After Independence, there were demands from the local people for the railway station to be renamed to Prabhadevi. This renaming, from the 18th-century Prabhadevi Temple of Hindu goddess Prabhavati Devi located near the station, was first proposed by Shiv Sena leader Diwakar Raote in 1991. The
Maharashtra Legislature The Maharashtra Legislature (IAST: ''Maharashtra Vidhan Mandal'') is the supreme legislative body of the state of Maharashtra. It is a bicameral legislature composed of the Governor of Maharashtra and two houses, The Maharashtra Legislative Coun ...
passed a resolution to that effect on 16 December 2016, followed by the Maharashtra Government sending a proposal for renaming the station to the Union Home Ministry which was approved on 6 May 2017. After the approval, the name of ''Elphinstone Road railway station'' was officially changed to ''Prabhadevi railway station'' on 19 July 2018. with its new station code as PBHD with the approval of Indian Railways


Passengers

Prabhadevi railway stations are a set of one of the busiest stations on the Mumbai Suburban Railway network. Over 15.6 million passenger's journey originates from either of these stations, earning yearly, due to offices being situated around these railway stations.


Foot-over-bridges

Due to the super-dense crush load on this station, two foot overbridges are constructed between the southern part of the Parel side and the northern part of the Prabhadevi side for easier interchanging between these platforms. Both of them were constructed in 2018. Before that, there was only one foot overbridge that was narrower in width and older than 50 years, This created problems for commuters during peak hours. Due to this, commuters used to cross the tracks on to the adjoining platform 3 and use the FOB of that platform. This prompted the Railways to put up a fence between the platforms in order to stop commuters from crossing the tracks. This has increased the pressure on the overbridge even more and hence forced the Railways into assigning the
Railway Protection Force The Railway Protection Force (RPF) is an armed police force of the Union under the Ministry of Railways, Government of India. The force was established by the RPF Act, 1957, enacted by the Indian Parliament for "the better protection and secur ...
and
Home Guard Home guard is a title given to various military organizations at various times, with the implication of an emergency or reserve force raised for local defense. The term "home guard" was first officially used in the American Civil War, starting ...
to help commuters cross the bridge and prevent any stampedes and also help to approach trains. For that purpose, the first foot overbridge was reconstructed by the joint operation of the Corps of Engineers of the
Indian Army The Indian Army (IA) (ISO 15919, ISO: ) is the Land warfare, land-based branch and largest component of the Indian Armed Forces. The President of India is the Commander-in-Chief, Supreme Commander of the Indian Army, and its professional head ...
and
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 ...
and opened on 27 February 2018, within the time span of 117 days. Whereas the second foot overbridge was newly constructed to reduce the load on the first foot overbridge and make a second interchange on this station, Opened for the public on 18 June 2018.


Stampede

On 29 September 2017 during the morning rush-hour, a stampede occurred at the western side of foot overbridge on the Parel–Prabhadevi railway station. 23 people were killed, 19 injured and 39 suffered other injuries. The incident was classified as a case of an accident by the Mumbai Police.


Gallery

File:View of Elphinstone Road Bridge from Prabhadevi station platform.jpg, A Northward view of the Elphinstone Road Bridge File:View of Prabhadevi Railway station from Elphinstone Bridge.jpg, View of the platforms from the Elphinstone Bridge File:Prabhadevi stnː view from Southeast.jpg, View of Prabhadevi stn from Elphinstone Rd. Bridge File:Looking toward Prabhadevi stn from Elphinstone Rd. Bridge.jpg, View of Prabhadevi stn. from Elphinstone Rd. Bridge east side File:Prabhadevi Railway stationː Elevated Booking Office.jpg, View of the elevated booking office adjacent to the Elphinstone Rd. Bridge File:EPR-Arrival-board.jpg, A
Churchgate Churchgate (Marathi pronunciation: ͡ʃəɾt͡ʃɡeːʈ is an area in the southern part of Mumbai, close to the Arabian Sea. The area is known for its unique architecture consisting of art deco style residential buildings, access to sportin ...
-bound train on Elphinstone Road Station File:EPR-Abandoned.jpg, An abandoned Elphinstone Road Station board after the station was renamed to ''Prabhadevi''


References

{{Mumbai - Suburban Railway, Western Railway stations in India opened in 1867 Mumbai WR railway division Railway stations in Mumbai City district Mumbai Suburban Railway stations