The Central Railways, one of the zones of the Indian Railways, has its headquarters in Mumbai, at the Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus. Mumbai, Pune, Nagpur, Kolhapur and Solapur are the cities which legally fall under the Central Railways purview. Some of the trains are the Deccan Queen which runs from Pune to Mumbai, the Gitanjali Express, from Mumbai to Kolkata, the Punjab Mail from Mumbai to Ferozpur, and the Pushpak Express Mumbai to Lucknow.
The Konkan Railways operates along the Konkan coast of India and has its headquarters in the Navi Mumbai. It serves the states of Maharashtra, Goa and Karnataka.
The Deccan Odyssey: A very important addition to the railways in Maharashtra is the Deccan Odyssey, a joint venture between the Maharashtra Tourism Development Corporation and the Indian railways. It is a luxury tourist train which pampers the passengers with all the modern amenities. It provides a visual treat for the tourists with visits to Ajanta and Ellora caves and other breathtaking greeneries. The MTDC also allows the train to be hired during the off – season period. The train starts off from the Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus and takes the passengers to a delightful journey encompassing Goa, Sindhudurg, Tarkarli, Sawantwadi, Auranghabad and Ratnagiri.
Other than the long distance trains, Maharashtra also has a network of intra – city network of railways. The Mumbai Suburban Railways is a very important part of a daily passenger’s routine. The railway is responsible for carrying 6.1 million passengers everyday. This system is run by the Western Railway and the Central Railway. It operates through three lines: the Western, the Central and the Harbor lines which share a total of five corridors between them. Some of the most crowded stations are the Churchgate, Mumbai Central, Dadar, Bandra, Andheri, Borivalli, Ghatkopar, Panvel and Mira Road stations.
