The Central Railway Zone is headquartered in Mumbai at Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Terminus. It has the distinction of operating first passenger railway line in India, which opened from Mumbai to Thane on 16 April 1853. The railway zone was formed on 5 November 1951 by grouping several government-owned railways. The Central Railway zone formerly included large parts of Madhya Pradesh and part of southern Uttar Pradesh, which made it the largest railway zone in India in terms of area, track mileage and staff.