Mumbai’s iconic Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Terminus to be restored to its past glory

The original colour of the ceiling was white and the colour of the sculptures was gold. Hence, the railways decided to paint them in their original colour. A portion of the glass-painted ceiling has been replaced with Burma teak wood, and painted white.

Central Railways (CR) has decided to restore Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Terminus (CSMT), a United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO)-recognised heritage structure, to its past glory.

The sculptures around the ceiling have been painted in gold to resemble its original look.(Aalok Soni/HT Photo)

According to the zonal railway, the original colour of the ceiling was white and the colour of the sculptures was gold, and hence, they decided to paint them in their original colour. To resemble its original look, a portion of the glass-painted ceiling at the terminus’ suburban railway concourse has been replaced with Burma teak wood, and painted white. The sculptures around the ceiling have been painted in gold to resemble its original look.

The railways plan to change the entire ceiling of the terminus along similar lines.

“While we were cleaning the ceiling surface, we realised the last layer was white, which indicated that originally the ceiling was white. Similarly, the sculptures were found to be gold in colour. Our focus was to show exactly how the ceiling surface looked when it was constructed,” said a senior CR official.

Apart from placing wood in the ceiling structure, the railways have kept spaces between the wood to let natural light and air enter the concourse area of the terminus.

Gold coloured lights near the structures has been installed to enhance the outlook of the ceiling.

However, this will only be done after an approval from architecture and heritage experts.

Upgraded colourful digital indicators along with lights have been placed in the terminus concourse area.