Mumbai, April 21
The National Rail Museum (NRM) has sent a fresh application to UNESCO to consider the Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus, (CST) better known as the Victoria Terminus for inscription on the World Heritage list.

Built in 1888 as the administrative office of the Agent of Great Indian Peninsula Railway, the building is an important landmark in Mumbai and houses the administrative headquarters of the Central Railways.

The magnificent structure in medieval Italian Gothic architecture has already been listed as the Grade-I heritage building in the country. One of the busiest stations in the world the VT, renamed as the Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus in 1996, deals with 3.2 million passengers everyday.

In a recent letter to the Director, World Heritage Centre, UNESCO, Paris, NRM Director Rajesh Aggarwal said that the CST building was the focus of the 150th year celebrations of the Indian Railways. “On April 16, 1853, India’s first train steamed off from Mumbai. This outstanding example of architectural, cultural technological and historical significance, serving millions of passengers, should be accorded the World Heritage status so that it comes into focus.

The NRM hopes that its application for renominating the CST succeeds this time. “The inscription on the World Heritage list brings recognition and support,” says Mr Aggarwal.

Till December 2001, 721 properties were inscribed by the World Heritage Committee on its list. The list will be updated after its next meeting in June, this year. The Darjeeling Himalayan Railway was the last Indian site to earn this distinction. The Ajanta and Ellora caves, Agra Fort, Taj Mahal, Sun Temple, Konark, Kaziranga National Park, Fatehpur Sikri, Elephanta Caves, Buddhist monuments at Sanchi, Humayun’s Tomb and Qutab Minar are among other Indian properties which figure in the list.

The NRM has said that it would welcome an expert delegation from the Paris based International Council of Mounuments and Sites (ICOMOS) during the current year for site evaluations.