The Salsette–Trombay Railway (also known as the Central Salsette Tramway) was a
standard-gauge railway
A standard-gauge railway is a railway with a track gauge of . The standard gauge is also called Stephenson gauge (after George Stephenson), international gauge, UIC gauge, uniform gauge, normal gauge in Europe, and SGR in East Africa. It is the ...
line on the island of
Salsette
Salsette Island (, , Sashti) is an island in Konkan division of the state of Maharashtra, along India's west coast. Administratively known as the Mumbai Suburban district, Mira Bhayander and a portion of Thana (Thane) lie on it; making it ...
in the city of
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 ...
(Bombay),
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 ...
. The line was opened in 1928 by 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 Terminu ...
under the
Bombay Improvement Trust
The City of Bombay Improvement Trust (BIT) was created on 9 December 1898, in response to the Bombay plague epidemic of 1896. The plague's threat to Bombay's economy caused the Bombay Chamber of Commerce to approach Governor Lord Sandhurst to ...
which called for ''"the opening up of a Railway line running West to South-east and linking up the Andheri and Kurla stations'' to ''render available for building purposes vast tracts of land sufficiently close to the city."''
Hence, the line linked
Andheri
Andheri (Help:IPA/Marathi, �n̪d̪ʱeɾiː is a suburb situated in Western Mumbai, Maharashtra, India.
Government and politics
For administrative purposes, Andheri is bifurcated into Andheri (west) and Andheri (east). Andheri (west) comes ...
in the north with the village of
Trombay
Trombay is an eastern suburb of Mumbai (Bombay), India. The Bhabha Atomic Research Centre (BARC) is located there.
History
In 1548, Trombay and Chembur
Chembur (pronunciation: Help:IPA/Marathi, ͡ʃembuːɾ is an upmarket large subur ...
in the east. The rail line was about 13 km long. During weekends, the line was frequented by picnickers who used to travel to Trombay to buy
toddy or palm liquor.
In 1934, the line was shut to make way for the
Santacruz Airport Santa Cruz Airport or Santacruz Airport may refer to:
* Santa Cruz Airport (Argentina), serving Santa Cruz and Puerto Santa Cruz
* Santa Cruz Airport (Chile), serving Santa Cruz
* Santa Cruz Airfield (Portugal), an aerodrome in Torres Vedras
* S ...
.
Route
The line began on the Island of Trombay and headed west with halts at
Wadavali
Wadavali was a station on the Salsette–Trombay Railway. It was dismantled after the rail line closed down in 1934. The area is in the Trombay region of Mumbai
Mumbai ( ; ), also known as Bombay ( ; its official name until 1995), is the ...
and
Mahul Road up to
Kurla
Kurla (Pronunciation: Help:IPA/Marathi, uɾlaː is a suburb of East Mumbai, India. It is the headquarters of the Kurla taluka of Mumbai Suburban district. The neighbourhood is named after the eponymous Bombay East Indians, East Indian vill ...
Jn, where it crossed the main GIPR line. The line continued North-West along what is now S. G. Barve Road to pass under the Old Agra road bridge (now A. H. Wadia Road) to
Agra Road station. From here the line headed West along the present C. S. T. Road towards Santacruz with halts at
Kolovery and Kole-Kalyan and finally turned north towards Andheri with halts at
Sahar and
Chakala
Chakala is a locality in the suburb of Andheri in Mumbai. It had a station on the Salsette–Trombay Railway, which was dismantled after the rail line closed down in 1934. It is served by the Western Express Highway and Chakala stations on L ...
stations. It station was at Chakala now new hotel at subha zircon .
Equipment
The line operated eight steam engines built in
Britain
Britain most often refers to:
* Great Britain, a large island comprising the countries of England, Scotland and Wales
* The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, a sovereign state in Europe comprising Great Britain and the north-eas ...
by
W. G. Bagnall
W. G. Bagnall was a locomotive manufacturer from Stafford, England which was founded in 1875 and operated
until it was taken over in 1962 by English Electric.
History
The company was founded in 1875 by William Gordon Bagnall. The majority of ...
in 1921 and delivered new to the Salsette Trombay Railway.
Most of the locomotives used were returned to Britain after the line was shut.
See also
*
Mumbai Suburban Railway
*
Andheri railway station
Andheri (station code: A (Western)/AD (Harbour)/ADH (Indian Railways)) is a passenger rail station located in the Andheri suburb of Mumbai. It serves the Western line (Mumbai Suburban Railway), Western line and Harbour line (Mumbai Suburban Rail ...
*
Line 1 (Mumbai Metro)
Blue Line (Line 1) is a rapid transit metro line of the Mumbai Metro in the city of Mumbai, Maharashtra, India. The line is fully elevated and consists of 12 stations from Versova metro station, Versova to Ghatkopar metro station, Ghatkopar. T ...
References
External links
Locomotive No. 2178 used on the Railway photographed in England in 1972
{{DEFAULTSORT:Salsette-Trombay Railway
Rail transport in Mumbai
Railway lines opened in 1928
Railway lines closed in 1934