Mumbai local trains to resume operations for all from today

In a major relief for commuters, the local train services in Mumbai will resume for the general public from today after a gap of more than 10 months. Travel by local trains, a lifeline for millions of people living in Mumbai and surrounding satellite towns, was severely restricted after the coronavirus outbreak in March 2020.

The trains will be available in three time slots: from the start of the day’s services to 7 am; 12 noon to 4 pm; and 9 pm to the end of the day. The timing has been restricted to avoid crowding during the Covid-19 pandemic.

The local train services for the general public, which was shut on 23rd March last year, has resumed from today. However, for the time being, the common men can avail the services in non- peak hours in specific time slots only.

The services of the local trains were resumed for the emergency and essential services staff in June last year, after which the authorities permitted women to travel in locals during the non-peak hours.

Anticipating the number of daily passengers to increase from the existing over 18 lakh to 40 lakh, the authorities have taken several measures to prepare themselves in terms of crowd management. While earlier, entry points to most stations were restricted, the authorities have decided to increase the number of entry and exit points to facilitate smooth movement of passengers. All ticket counters and ATVM machines will also be operated on full capacity.

While the Central Railway (CR) will operate all lifts and escalators in its stations, the number of Railway Protection Force personnel deployed on stations will also be doubled.