Summary - TST 44
TRANSPORTES, SERVICIOS Y TELECOMUNICACIONES
Understanding the Cultural Significance of Living Railway Heritage: Need for New Approaches
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[ Abstract ]
Railway heritage has a unique character. While railway sites are
industrial and cultural landmarks, many of them still continue
to be in use. Their evolving nature plays a role in shaping
their importance, but this aspect is less explored in their
management. Special approaches are needed to understand the
‘cultural significance’ of living railway heritage and to manage
change and continuity which characterise it. This also brings
into question how the cultural heritage notions such as
authenticity relate to the living railway heritage sites, where
function, technology and safety are prime concerns.
Using a case of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Terminus, Mumbai, a
UNESCO World Heritage Site, this paper looks at how the cultural
significance of this site is to be understood in the light of
its living nature. It outlines limitations in the current
conservation practices and suggests sustainable practices for
its conservation and management, which are hoped to form basis
for managing other railway sites in India.