The Central Railway is basking in the glory of the success of Kaminey at the box office as a couple of sequences of the film were shot at Wadi Bunder Yard near Sandhurst Road. Now, this 127-year-old yard off P D’mello Road is being promoted by CR for more film shoots. On earlier occasions too the yard has attracted filmmakers like Danny Boyle, whose Slumdog Millionaire won international accolades.

“Wadi Bunder is quite a popular site with filmmakers. To further popularise it we suggest the filmmakers to use this yard whenever they come and seek permission to shoot on railway premises,” said Shriniwas Mudgerikar, chief spokesperson, CR. Since 2006, the yard has earned railways a revenue of Rs 61 lakh.

Surprisingly, this yard, which is partially defunct and houses few buildings, including the Mumbai Railway Police Commissioner’s Office, was once a bustling transportation centre.

As the Mumbai port became the epicentre of trade on the Western coast of India in the early 20th century, the Great Indian Peninsula Railway (GIPR) decided to build the “Goods” depot in 1878. GIPR completed the work in 1882 and it later went on to become the first coach depot of India. In September 1898, the BPT also proposed to have a railway line in its premises that would connect the ports to the railways. The Princess Dock near the Wadi Bunder was tone of the main ports in the city and yard was the most used then to take the goods from Mumbai to other parts of the country.

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