06 June,2026 08:11 AM IST | Mumbai | Rajendra B. Aklekar
(From left) Former South African cricketer AB de Villiers, Project Mumbai founder Shishir Joshi, and Western Railway Chief PRO Vineet Abhishek at the launch event on Friday. PICS/BY SPECIAL ARRANGEMENT
AB de Villiers, former captain of the South African cricket team, was at Churchgate station on Friday evening to inaugurate a novel initiative that promotes reading and community engagement - âLibrary Junction' - a first-of-its-kind free public railway station library for commuters. de Villiers donated copies of his autographed biography to the library.
The library currently has around 1200 books
According to Western Railway Chief Public Relations Officer Vineet Abhishek, the initiative has been undertaken by âProject Mumbai', with support from Mumbai Central Division of Western Railway, with L&T Ltd as the social initiative partner.
The library was inaugurated by de Villiers in the presence of Mumbai Central Divisional Railway Manager Pankaj Singh, and Project Mumbai CEO and founder Shishir Joshi in the south concourse area of Churchgate station.
The initiative aims to transform the commuting experience by providing passengers and citizens access to books and encouraging the habit of reading, offering an chance to connect with books.
Library Junction is part of Project Mumbai's âRead Mumbai' initiative, which seeks to create inclusive reading and knowledge spaces for people. The library has been built using recycled plastic collected during Project Mumbai's âPlastic Recyclathon', thereby giving the initiative a strong sustainability connect.
The library has a wide range of around 1200 books, including comics, children's storybooks, fiction, non-fiction, self-help books, autobiographies, books on yoga, and magazines such as National Geographic. A librarian will be available from 8 am to 8 pm to assist commuters and readers. The initiative allows books to be borrowed for two weeks after issuance, making reading more accessible and convenient.
The library has received support through book donations from citizens, communities and schools, along with voluntary assistance for organising and cataloguing the books. The collection reflects the love of citizens towards Mumbai's lifeline and brings together books shared by different communities, citizens and schools.
Citizens can contribute by donating books, making Library Junction a reading space built through collective participation. Project Mumbai aims to create more reading spaces across the city through people-public-private support.
