Thane

Thane (Marathi: [ˈʈʰaːɳeː]; previously known as Thana, the official name until 1996) is a metropolitan city located on the northwestern side of the state of Maharashtra in India and on the northeastern side of Mumbai. It is an immediate neighbour of Mumbai city proper, and a part of the Mumbai Metropolitan Region. It is situated in the north-eastern portion of the Salsette Island.
Thane city is situated entirely within Thane taluka, one of the seven talukas of Thane district. It serves as the headquarters of the district. Thane city ranks as the 15th most populous city in India, with a population of 1,890,000 according to the 2011 census.
The ancient name of Thana was Śrīsthāna. It appears as Thāna in early medieval Arab sources.
The name Thane has been variously Romanised as Tana, Thana, Thâṇâ, and Thame. Ibn Battuta and Abulfeda knew it as Kukin Tana; Duarte Barbosa as Tana Mayambu. Before 1996, the city was called "Thana", the British spelling of the city, until it was replaced with the more-local name.
A copper plate dating to AD 1078 was discovered near the foundations of Thane Fort in 1787. A land grant from Arikesara Devaraja, lord of Tagara, wherein he addresses the inhabitants of a city called "Sri Sthanaka". For a long time, it was a military training and recruitment center of the Maratha Empire.
The East India Company occupied Salsette Island, Thana Fort, Fort Versova and the island fort of Karanja at the start of First Anglo-Maratha War, but after a short time it was recaptured by the forces of Haripant Phadke and Tukoji Holkar. After the conclusion of the Treaty of Salbai, both Thana Fort and the island of Salsette were taken over by the British.
Thane has a tropical monsoon climate that borders on a tropical wet and dry climate. The overall climate is equable with high rainfall days and minimal days of extreme temperatures.
Temperature in Thane varies from 22°C to 36°C. The region experiences winter temperatures that can drop to as low as 12°C at night, while summer temperatures can ascend to over 40°C at noon. The lowest daytime temperatures are typically observed during the peak of the summer monsoon in July and August, when temperatures can plummet to approximately 25°C. Around 80% of the total annual rainfall is concentrated in the period from June to October. The average annual rainfall is recorded at 2000–2500mm, and the humidity level ranges from 61% to 86%, rendering the area a humid zone.
Thane has been ranked 12th best “National Clean Air City” (under Category 1 >10L Population cities) in India according to 'Swachh Vayu Survekshan 2024 Results'
The population of Thane according to the 2011 census is 1,886,941. The average literacy rate of Thane city is 91.36 percent for where male and female literacy was 94.19 and 88.14 percent respectively. The sex ratio of Thane city is 882 females per 1000 males. Child sex ratio is 900 girls per 1000 boys. Total children (0–6) in Thane city are 186,259 as per Census India report on 2011. There were 98,017 boys while 88,242 are girls. Children form 10.24% of total population of Thane City.
The primary language spoken in Thane is Marathi, with widespread understanding and usage of Hindi. Some of the East Indian families in the Khatri ward of Thane still speak Portuguese. About 1,800 of India's approximately 5,000 Jews live in Thane.
At the time of the 2011 census, 48.50% of the population spoke Marathi, 19.59% Hindi, 12.99% Urdu, 3.93% Gujarati, 2.44% Bhojpuri, 1.37% Kannada, 1.29% Malayalam, 1.21% Bengali, 1.15% Tamil, 1.14% Marwari and 0.94% Konkani as their first language.
Cricket is the most popular sport in Thane. Dadoji Kondadev Stadium, a sports arena of cricket is present in the city. Thane comes under jurisdiction of Mumbai Cricket Association, the governing body for cricket in Mumbai. Its players play for the Mumbai cricket team in Indian domestic cricket.
Thana was the terminus for the first ever passenger train in Asia. On 16 April 1853, the passenger train service was inaugurated between Bori Bunder (Bombay) and Thane. Covering a distance of 34 km (21 mi), it was hauled by three locomotives: Sahib, Sindh and Sultan. The Thane viaducts, the first railway bridges, were built over the Thane creek when the Mumbai-Thane line was extended to Kalyan in May 1854.
Thane is connected with neighbouring suburbs through Central and Trans-Harbour Line Suburban railway network. Thane is a railway junction for the Thane-Vashi & Panvel Harbour Line and Central Line. It is one of the busiest stations in India and handles 654,000 passengers daily.
Thane railway station will soon be revamped, Work to start soon on Rs 800-crore project.
As of January 2021, the MMRDA, the nodal agency for building 300 km of vast Metro network, has proposed a plan to build an elevated depot for three Metro lines : 4 (Wadala-Thane-Kasarvadavali), 4A (Kasarvadavali-Gaimukh), 10 (Gaimukh-Shivaji Nagar) and 11 (Wadala-General Post Office, CSMT) at one stop. This depot is proposed at Mogharpada, Thane. The total project cost is estimated to be ₹ 596.60 crore.
As of 2019, Wadala and Thane are being connected through a Metro line.
On 26 August 2015, the MMRDA sanctioned ₹354 billion for 118 km Mumbai metro network. This includes a 40-km Wadala-Ghatkopar-Thane-Kasarvadavali Metro-4 corridor via Wadala GPO and R.A.Kidwai Marg costing ₹120 billion.
On 16 August, 2024, the Union Government gave its approval for Thane Metro, a 29 km ring metro project. It will have 22 stations, and is expected to open in 2029. It will be executed by Maha Metro.
Thane Municipal Corporation started its transport service on 9 February 1989, known as Thane Municipal Transport (TMT). TMT provides services in Thane city and suburbs like Mulund, Borivali, Mira Road, Nala Sopara, Vasai, Bhiwandi and Navi Mumbai, among others.
Navi Mumbai Municipal Transport (NMMT) operates AC and Non-AC buses from Thane Cidco Bus Stand to various parts of Navi Mumbai (Airoli, Rabale, Ghansoli, Mahape, Kopar Khairane, Vashi, Turbhe, Nerul, Belapur, Kharghar, Kalamboli, Panvel) and also to Purna (via Kalher) and Bhiwandi (via Mankoli).
Mira-Bhayandar Municipal Transport (MBMT) started from 2006. The buses ply from Dahisar Check naka towards Versova [Thane] Check naka. So till now majority of MBMT buses can be taken up at the Check naka only. MBMT has started new services to Thane City from January 2010.
Vasai Virar Municipal Transport (VVMT) operates two routes in Thane. First from Vasai to Mulund Via Thane/Ghodbunder road and second from Nala Sopara to Thane Kopri.
A light rail network covering 42 km has been proposed in three phases. In the first phase, consultants have suggested connectivity between Balkum and Kolshet via Naupada. It will be 16.05 km long with 14.65 km elevated, and only 1.4 km on the surface, and 11 stations in all.