Over 1,702 Central Railway and 1,304, Western Railway is operating suburban services are set to travel the passengers
Mumbai: The Central Railway and Western Railway will run suburban services in Mumbai at the 100 per cent capacity of the pre-pandemic level from October 28. Still, the existing travel restrictions for the general public will remain unchanged, says an official release. It is a sigh of relief for the locals to travel.
According to an official said on Monday, the decision was taken considering the increased flow of commuters.
A collective statement announced by the CR and WR clarified that only categories identified by the government as on date are allowed to travel as per the standard operating procedures (SOP).
Almost 1,702 Central Railway and 1,304 Western Railway are operating suburban services, respectively, which is 95.70 per cent of the total suburban services in the normal period.
As per the statement of Shivaji Sutar, chief public relations officer of Central Railway said, "The decision has been taken considering the increased flow of commuters in local trains." He also added to increase the number of local trains from Thursday onwards but the existing protocols remain unchanged.
Currently, in the city, only the state workers and essential services staffers are allowed to travel on the suburban locals, apart from the fully-vaccinated citizens, who have completed the 14 days after the second dose and those who are below 18 years.
After the outbreak of the pandemic, the local railways were stopped from March 22, 2020. Later Maharashtra government and approved by the Ministry of Railways from June 15, 2020, to allow some suburban services for the state officials.
According to a survey, Suburban locals are considered the lifeline of Mumbai. Nearly 80 lakh passengers used to travel on the suburban locals before the COVID-19 pandemic.
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