In 1853 Railway s made a modest beginning in India when the first train was flagged off from Bombay (Mumbai) to Thane covering a distance of 34 km. Over the next one and a half centuries Indian Railways have grown into a mammoth organisation employing a work­ force of 1.6 million, covering 63 thousand route km., having a  fleet strength of 6900 locomotives and managing a network of 7000 railway stations. In the past, the Department of Posts has joined the Indian Railways in celebrating its major achievement s and milestone s through issuing commemorative and special postage stamps. Now, by issuing a stamp to commemorate the centenary of the  Churchgate building in Mumbai , the Department focuses attention on a colourful aspect of the rich  inheritance of the Indian Railways - its heritage buildings.


Churchgate building was originally the headquarters of the erstwhile Bombay, Baroda and Central India Railways (BB&CI), one among the famous railway companies in British India. BB&CI was incorporated in 1855 to start a railway route from Surat to Bombay to ensure regular supply of cotton grown in Gujarat area. The Headquarter s was originally located at Surat and later shifted to Mumbai. construction of the Headquarter s Building at Churchgate was started in 1894 and completed in 1899 under the direction of one of the most famous Victorian architects in Bombay, Mr. Frederick William Stevens of the Victoria Terminus and Corporation Building fame. The construction cost was then Rs. 7.5 lakhs.


The tower of this building is square from the base up to 100 feet when it becomes octagonal and is surmounted by a circular dome. The building has an miental character, with facings of rough-hewn basalt inlaid with bands of red Bassein sandstone and white stone dressings. The dome looks like a Gothic Revival composition as that is the structural language employed . But, through distortions of scale and the complexity of the overall massing , Stevens deceives the eye, creating the perception that the office complex was designed as an Indo-Saracenic building. It is a transitional structure which absorbs from one tradition and applies it to another. The final appearance tends more toward s the Indian rather than the Italian in overall effect.


When the building was constructed , the sea was next to it. However , now many multi-storeyed structure s have come up in the surrounding area. The building consists of three floor devoted to offices, and in the centre below the dome, is an extra floor for the storage of records. The main entrance hall facing Churchgate Station, is 25 feet square and has a floor with coloured marble.


In 1951 Western Railway was formed merging BB&CI and other State  Railways. Today, the headquarters of the Western Railway is housed in the Churchgate building.


Source : Information Folder issued by Indian Posts & Telegraph Department, Government of India