To commemorate the 150th birth anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi, the Central Railway (CR) will be installing digital museums at prominent locations at Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Terminus (CSMT), and Thane, Lonavala, Wardha, Nagpur and Daund stations.
The 85-inch screens will be placed in the Star Chamber at CSMT, and near the ticket counters on the east entrance of Thane station. The museums will showcase historical information and photos of Mahatma Gandhi during the freedom struggle.
Zonal railways will include localised history of the train stations. For instance, at Thane, the maiden train journey between Bori Bunder and Thane on April 16, 1853, will be showcased. Sources said that at Lonavala station, a digital wall will showcase the history of electric locomotives. A senior railway official said that a museum on electric locomotives had been in the pipeline for ages, which may now be included as part of the initiative.
Sunil Udasi, chief public relations officer, CR, said, “Digital walls will be populated by digital posters and photo collages depicting Mahatma Gandhi’s quotes and freedom movements. National Rail Museum has prepared the content. We will also add local railway history of relevance.” Mr. Udasi said the digital walls would be a permanent fixture and the Railways will update the content periodically.
The Central Railway will also be commissioning a special train on October 2. The train has been painted by the students of the Central Railway School, Kalyan. Sketches of Mahatma Gandhi adorn the exterior of the coaches. The train will have regular services along the Trans-Harbour Line between Thane and Panvel.
The Indian Railways has identified 43 stations that have a special association with Mahatma Gandhi. The stations will be painted thematically for Gandhi Jayanti. Western Railway has 12 such stations under its jurisdiction and are planning to have murals in all of them. The stations include Mumbai Central, Bhavnagar, Porbandar, Vadodara and Ahmedabad. Ravinder Bhakar, chief public relations officer, WR, that the murals will depict events from Mahatma Gandhi’s life.
