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Interchange aspects of rail terminal IFBC Mumbai India

University of British Columbia

Since the opening of the world's first railway line the Stockton and Darlington Railway in 1825, railways and rail stations have always maintained an important role in public life. Railways and rail stations have always played the role of being catalysts for urban development and growth. Many stations worldwide are magnificent architectural creations. Railways and rail stations have played an important role in the growth and development of Mumbai city . This thesis tries to investigate the issue of how railways and rail station can still be a catalyst for urban growth and renewal. The historic Victoria Terminus, being the birthplace of Indian Railways, has been selected for this case study. A photographic study conducted for the whole day at various exit points of Victoria Terminus reveals a unique pattern of activities in and outside the Victoria Terminus. These activities are so unique that they can be identified as the train culture of Mumbai . These activities and their relation to the rail station are responsible for making the station and its surroundings a very vibrant and thriving urban area. A proposed elevated railway line passing through the International Business and Finance Center and its proposed rail station in the complex, has been selected as a project site for the thesis. Architectural design and design process of rail station is used to study the potentials of the rail station for being a catalyst of urban growth and development. An urban diagram will show how a railway station can influence urban renewal and growth, and how it can help development of surrounding areas. Two stations, Victoria Terminus with its historical significance, and Interchange, the contemporary and newly proposed elevated railway station, are compared and seen as equally important. Victoria Terminus still standing tall as a vibrant urban center and Interchange station represents the new and contemporary face of Mumbai, preserving the train culture of Mumbai and benefiting from the urban issues of Victoria Terminus will ensure a thriving urban center and catalyst for urban growth.

Text

2011-03-11

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http://hdl.handle.net/2429/32348

Architecture

University of British Columbia

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