Western Railway headquarters gets a facelift, wears a retro look

Western Railway heritage headquarter building

The Western Railway has brought back the old charm of the heritage headquarter building at Churchgate by undertaking various restoration works. The final outcome was accompanied by LED illumination and inaugurated by Western Railway General Manager Alok Kansal on Friday.

A senior official close to the restoration project said, "It was nearly a three-month project. The work of restoration comprised thorough cleaning of arches and removal of coats of paint. The arch stones used in the building were Porbandar stone, Malad Stone, sandstone and basalt which were then given proper treatment, decorative cornices were revived, and disintegrated pillar stones repaired. The wooden rafters of the roof ceiling were scraped and painted, heritage mouldings restored, the wooden wall panelling work has been restored to its original shape and size and the marble flooring has also been given a facelift with grinding and polishing."

Also Read: Mumbai: Lack of industrial oxygen, labour delay Lower Parel railway bridge

"The restoration work has been undertaken at a cost of Rs 15 lakh and was completed within three months. The foyer has been lit with soft ambient lighting giving it an old-world charm," he said.

Western Railway's chief public relations officer Sumit Thakur said the façade of the building has been enhanced with RGB+W class strip-LED multi-colour luminaires and the lights can be used in different themes at befitting occasions. The illumination work of the façade will result in savings of approximately Rs 10 lakh per annum due to lesser energy consumption. The remote-control-based lighting can be programmed as per the requirement of the occasion using a smartphone app as well as Windows-based software for creating light shows.

The Western Railway Headquarter building, originally the administrative offices of the former Bombay, Baroda and Central India Railway Company, is a blend of Venetian Gothic and Indo-Saracenic styles of architecture originally designed by legendary architect Frederick William Stevens. The construction of the building commenced in 1894 and was completed in 1899, and it was built at a cost of Rs 7.5 lakh.