Mumbai: After a lot of hoopla and political grandstanding, union minister Suresh Prabhu, who would rather flag-off long-distance trains and other services instead, has postponed officially changing the name of Elphinstone Road to Prabhadevi railway station. Mr Prabhu was to officially change Chhatra-pati Shivaji Terminus (CST) to Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Terminus (CSMT) as well on August 13.
The Central Railway (CR) has already made the change but the Western Railway (WR) was hoping to make it official this weekend. However, Mr Prabhu’s tight schedule and lack of time have further pushed inauguration of the new name. WR officials said that they were ready to make the official change but were told that the minister did not have time and would instead flag-off the Hamsafar Express from Bandra to Patna; two new services of the already launched Antodhaya Express; Wi-Fi at Bhayander, Vasai Road and Virar; and a lift at Borivali station. An official said, “We are ready to make the change from Elphinstone Road to Prabhadevi but we were told that since the minister does not have time and also has to change to CSMT, both name changes will be clubbed together.”
Passenger-activists like Nirmal Tikamgarh, an ex-member of the divisional railway users’ consultative committee (DRUCC), however felt that this just went to show how changing names of stations had become a political statement more than anything else. He said, “The change in name matters only to politicians and the irony is that state Bharatiya Janata Party leaders were keen on changing the name while commuters don’t care about these names.” The name change of Elphinstone Road station will be the second such change in Mumbai this year.
