Mumbai’s Elphinstone Road station is now Prabhadevi station

Station on Mumbai’s western line, which saw a stampede that claimed 23 lives last year, has been renamed after a local deity.

Mumbai’s Elphinstone Road station was renamed as Prabhadevi station on Wednesday. The Western Railway (WR) had issued a notification to the effect on Tuesday evening.

Elphinstone Road station’s named was officially changed on Wednesday. (Shashi S Kashyap/ HT Photo)

On Wednesday, all station boards and indicators on the railway network were changed. Commuters will have to keep in mind that the station code has now changed to PBHD.

The station was named after Lord Elphinstone, the governor of Bombay Presidency from 1853 to 1860. Prabhadevi is the name of a local deity whose temple is located close to the railway station.

The old Elphinstone Road station name board was removed on Wednesday. (Shashi S Kashyap/ HT Photo)

The decision to change the name of the station had been taken a year ago, in July 2017. “The official name change was supposed to happen in September 2017, but after the Elphinstone Road stampede, it was put on a hold,” said a senior WR official, who did not wish to be named. The stampede on the old, narrow foot over-bridge at the station claimed 23 lives on September 29, 2017.

The demand for the name change was made by the Shiv Sena first, and got the central government’s nod last year. It was also passed unanimously through a resolution by the Maharashtra Assembly during its winter session last December.