Thakurli Railway Station is at a distance of 49 km from the Mumbai CST station on the Central Railway line. In this small village in 1932, GIP Railway established its first coal-based power station, Chola Power Station, for producing the electric power required to run the suburban electric railway. The Chola village and the surrounding areas also form home to the native Agri community known for it
s pride, culture and warrior like attitude. For the staff of this powerhouse, staff quarters were constructed; for workers, 52 "chawls" (rows of dwelling units), and for British officers, 12 bungalows. As this area was surrounded by bushy and rocky terrain, British officers established fox hunting clubs for their weekend pleasures. Officers' wives established a school for children of staff members; this still-renowned school is now known as Mahila Samiti English High School. It is still run by the Wives of Officers Of the Electrical Department of Central Railway. The defunct thermal power plant at Thakurli is set to get a new lease of life. Union railway minister, Mamata Banerjee, announced in her third railway budget, that to meet the electrical energy requirement of the railways, which is growing rapidly with expanding infrastructure and traffic, a 700-megawatt gas-based power plant will come up at Thakurli depending on how much fuel can be made available at an economical cost.
