Fodor's Expert Review CST (Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus), aka Victoria Terminus
Built by the British in 1888, this is one of India's—and probably the world's—busiest train stations, overflowing at rush hour with enormous, surging, scurrying crowds who use the suburban lines that also originate here (Mumbai's suburban trains carry 8 million people a day). Although it's been renamed Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus, it's still commonly called Victoria Terminus or just VT, and it bears a hefty statue of Lady Progress on its imposing dome, the haughty structure combining Indian and Victorian Gothic architecture for an Eastern version of London's St. Pancras station. Why visit? To spend a few minutes admiring the enormous, incredible UNESCO World Heritage site, which is even more arresting lit up at night. It also houses a small museum within that opens every afternoon for a few hours. If you're brave, walk around the corner to the modern suburban extension of the station around rush hour—9 am or 5:30 pm—and experience Mumbai's maddening crowds. Even better, take... READ MORE
Built by the British in 1888, this is one of India's—and probably the world's—busiest train stations, overflowing at rush hour with enormous, surging, scurrying crowds who use the suburban lines that also originate here (Mumbai's suburban trains carry 8 million people a day). Although it's been renamed Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus, it's still commonly called Victoria Terminus or just VT, and it bears a hefty statue of Lady Progress on its imposing dome, the haughty structure combining Indian and Victorian Gothic architecture for an Eastern version of London's St. Pancras station. Why visit? To spend a few minutes admiring the enormous, incredible UNESCO World Heritage site, which is even more arresting lit up at night. It also houses a small museum within that opens every afternoon for a few hours. If you're brave, walk around the corner to the modern suburban extension of the station around rush hour—9 am or 5:30 pm—and experience Mumbai's maddening crowds. Even better, take a ride on a local train (but avoid the rush hour); many say you have not experienced Mumbai unless you have ridden one.
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