Mumbai local trains are set to run at pre-pandemic capacity from this month, with certain COVID-19 guidelines in place.
The Central Railways and Western Railways have announced some good news for daily travelers and local workers, as the suburban services are set to resume its services in Mumbai at the pre-pandemic levels from this month, as per their official statement.
The local trains in Mumbai will resume functioning at 100 percent capacity from October 28, as per reports. The official release states that even though the trains will function at full capacity, the existing travel restrictions for the general public will remain unchanged for now.
As per media reports, an official said that the decision to resume the proper functioning of Mumbai local trains was taken, keeping in mind the increased flow of commuters on a daily basis, as the offices are ending work from home and marketplaces are opening.
The CR and WR issued a joint statement, which said that as per the standard operating procedures, only categories identified by the government as on date are permitted to travel. The Central and Western Railway will be running 1,774 and 1,367 services respectively from October 28 on their suburban routes.
Shivaji Sutar, chief public relations officer of Central Railway, stated that even though the trains will run at full capacity and the number of suburban services will increase from this week, the existing travel restrictions in the local trains will remain unchanged for now.
The official statement reads, “The categories of commuters who were allowed by the state government and approved by the Ministry of Railways were subsequently enlarged in August 2021 and in recent weeks, to travel in suburban trains.”
For now, the category of people allowed in the Mumbai local trains are government employees, essential services employees, fully-vaccinated citizens who have completed the 14-day period after the second dose, and people below the age of 18 years.
Before the COVID-19 pandemic, nearly 80 lakh passengers used to travel through the Mumbai local trains. As Mumbai became one of the worst-hit cities during the pandemic, the local train services were halted and didn’t return to normal functioning for over 1.5 years.
(With agency inputs)
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