The old Victoria Terminus was the first truly public building in Bombay. So when it became a target of the 2008 terrorist attacks, what was violated was much more than just a railway station

Commuters pour out of the ‘Bombay Gothic’ Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus.
Commuters pour out of the ‘Bombay Gothic’ Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus. © Richard I'Anson/Lonely Planet/Getty Images

This late-19th-century railway terminus happens also to be one of the finest examples of colonial architecture in the country, representing an east-meets-west style that developed here. ... This is also where the first passenger train service in India started; the railway would prove indispensable to Mumbai’s functioning and growth. The terminus was also perhaps the first truly public building in what was then Bombay. Now, its structure is iconic to the point of cliche: when a Hindi film needs to establish a scene as happening in Mumbai, it’s CST that fills the screen, a stately edifice amid a swirl of traffic and people.

And so, when CST became a target of the 2008 terrorist attacks, what was violated was much more than a railway station. Fifty-eight people died here; more than 100 were injured. Few Mumbaikars had seen the insides of the five-star hotels that were also attacked, but everyone had walked on the platforms that were seen bloodied in news reports. To strike CST was to get at the heart of Mumbai.

Victoria Terminus in Bombay, circa 1900.
Victoria Terminus in Bombay, circa 1900. - Victoria Terminus was designed by the architect FW Stevens and built over 10 years to open in 1887. From the outside, it looks far more imposing that its three storeys for its profusion of spires, turrets, domes and gables. Close up, the building is heavily ornamented with floral and animal patterns. The grand, modern identity the British sought for their colonial cities must have been evident in this cathedral that enshrined the power of steam locomotion. Above the central dome of the station is a personification of the whole affair, a 14-foot-tall statue of Progress.It’s doubtful whether the colonial origins of the station even register with commuters today, who stream through as if the structure were invisible. Victoria Terminus was officially renamed Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus in 1996, but it is still common to hear a snappy “VT return” at ticket counters across the city. © Hulton Archive/Getty Images

Guardian Cities is kicking off a special series delving into the evolution of cities across the globe, by looking at 50 buildings which tell incredible stories about urban history. From the Zoser pyramid of Memphis, the first purpose-built capital city some 5,000 years ago, through to the world’s first skyscraper in Chicago and the occupied half-built Tower of David in Caracas, our history of cities in 50 buildings will explore how technology, religion, politics and culture have shaped urban development through time.