Vidyavihar - History

History

Vidyavihar (Abode of Education in Hindi?) is named after the Somaiya Vidyavihar campus, one of the largest education campuses in Mumbai and a landmark. The railway station was established to facilitate travel for students of Somaiya Vidyavihar. Vidyavihar station is about 2K.M. from Kurla Terminus, and an easy transfer point (however, it does not have a connecting railway).

In the 1960s and 1970s, the Railways lost their land on both sides of the Vidyavihar station tracks due to the illegal encroachments along both the suburban lines. A vast stretch of their land on the eastern side of Vidyavihar Station was in a vulnerable state waiting to be encroached. The Railways came up with a plan to save this land from encroachment by utilizing it. The railway administration divided this stretch into 2 parts. On the first part they constructed a hostel for their technical apprentices and several railway quarters for their staff. This hostel has been demolished as two additional rail tracks are being laid.

The second stretch was developed into a plant nursery. A small rivulet (called the nullah) ran right through this stretch of land. It was decided to convert the remaining portion of the land into a plant nursery, which takes advantage of the water supply from the rivulet. The work on this nursery commenced some time in the mid-1980s. As of 2008, the Nursery was a vast green and symmetrical expanse. The smaller plants are sent regularly in pots to the administrative offices of the railway stations on the Central Railway for aesthetic purposes. The nursery might give way to setting up of two additional rail tracks.