Rafique Aziz
Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar: Whether living or non-living, human beings often develop deep emotional attachments, especially when something has been a part of their formative years. Such is the case for many elderly residents, whose memories were stirred upon hearing that the old railway station building is being razed to make way for a new one. The SCR (Nanded Division) through the contractor has begun this process, evoking a wave of nostalgia among the community.
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A Journey Down Memory Lane
Veteran tourist guide Shamim Hashmi (78) recalls, "In the old days, Aurangabad (now Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar) and Hyderabad were considered twin cities, both thriving destinations on the Deccan Plateau. Our family often traveled between the two, as we had close relatives in Hyderabad. The sight of the old engines, with their rhythmic thudding sounds, still lingers in my memory. The station then had only a one-meter gauge line. Reaching it to catch a night train was quite a challenge, as one had to negotiate with a tongawallah for transport well before evening. Back then, the Paithan Gate and Kala Chabutra (old Mondha) areas marked the town's boundary. Beyond that was a vast, desolate jungle. The canteen staff on the platform were trained at the renowned Aurangabad Ashoka Hotel, which used to be the Railway Hotel. Over time, the station expanded with a bookstore, an enlarged inquiry counter, and more ticket windows in the 1980s. Traveling by train was a luxury, and foreign tourists visiting the Ajanta and Ellora Caves often preferred arriving by train."
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A Small Station with Sparse Traffic
Vinay Bhise, a 67-year-old porter working at the station since 1984, reflects on the changes he's witnessed. "This station was very small, and the city itself was a sleepy town. The present old building was once the new one. Before that, there was an arch that welcomed VVIP passengers, while regular passengers entered through gates near the old parcel building and the current Shani Mandir. Tongas and bicycles were the main modes of transportation until the 1980s, and there was only one express and one passenger train operating between Kachiguda and Manmad. These later became the Ajanta Express and Ellora Express, catering to tourists visiting the heritage sites."
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A witness to history
Santosh Kumar Somani, President of the Railway Pravasi Sena, highlights the historical significance of the old building. "Constructed during the Nizam Era, the present old building was renovated five decades ago and closed to the public around 2016-17. An arch-shaped structure featuring an image of Padmapani, made by an artist commissioned by the railways in 1998, adorned the station. The building saw the station’s transformation from meter gauge to broad gauge, completed in 2004. It also witnessed the inauguration of the first direct train to Mumbai (today's Devgiri Express), and later the Janshatabdi Express in 2005-06. The station’s concourse was spacious, with separate waiting rooms for first and second-class passengers, as well as retiring rooms and administrative offices. For many years, the old building served as an administrative sub-headquarter for South Central Railway's Nanded Division as well."
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Features of the Old Building
-- The old station witnessed key historical events, including the 1947 Indian Independence movement and the 1948 Hyderabad Liberation Movement.
-- The laying of the meter gauge was part of an 1870 agreement between the Nizam and the British, aimed at connecting the Great Indian Peninsula Railway (GIPR) line from Bombay to Madras.
-- The conversion from meter gauge to broad gauge in the Manmad to Aurangabad section began in the 1980s.
-- According to the revised edition of the Aurangabad Gazetteer (1977), the Nizam’s Guaranteed State Railway (NGSR) opened the meter gauge railway line for traffic in 1900. The 154 km line from Manmad to Kachiguda had 16 stations, with three passenger trains and one express train running daily.