After standing still for 84 days, since March 23, Mumbai local trains – the lifeline of the city – resume operations on Monday, June 15. By Kumar Shree
The Western Railway and Central Railway have decided to resume operations of Mumbai local trains for people in essential services. Including Harbour lines, these will daily operate 146 and 200 trains, respectively. The much-needed step comes with a set of rules for passengers, as the Coronavirus outbreak persists.
While a local train, formed up of 12 bogies, can carry 1,200 passengers, during non-peak hours, only 700 essential service workers will be allowed to board a train at a time. This will ensure social-distancing norms on board are maintained and will keep the virus transmission risk at a minimum.
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These trains will also have selected halts. On the Western Railway line, the trains will stop at Andhra, Bandra, Borivali, Churchgate, Mumbai Central, and every station from Dahisar to Virar.
On the Central Railway line, the trains will halt at Asangaon, Badlapur, Byculla, Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Terminus (CSMT), Dadar Diva, Dombivali, Ghatkopar, Kalyan, Karjat, Kasara, Kurla, Mulund, Neral, Titwala, and Thane.
On the Harbour line, the train will halt at Belapur, Juinagar, Mankhurd, Nerul, Vadala, Vashi, and Parel.
Minister of Railways and Commerce & Industry, Government of India, Piyush Goyal also tweeted about the same. He wrote, “Scaling up services to combat COVID-19, railways resumes selected local trains in Mumbai from today. Catering to essential staff as identified by State Govt, trains have eased the lives of people, providing safe & comfortable travel.”
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After resuming its services, Western Railway tweeted, “Western Railway has resumed 162 suburban services with defined protocol & SOP, only for movement of essential Govt staff as identified by the State Government. Only essential services workers with proper ID cards will be allowed to travel in these trains. #WRKiSawari.”
Only those with a valid identification card can seek entry to the station premises. The Brihan Mumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) plans to issue an electronic pass with a QR code. Railway Protection Force (RPF) and Government Railway Police (GRP) personnel will man the stations to ensure proper implementation of the protocols.
Related: #TnlSalutes: Khaana Chahiye In Mumbai Is Distributing 70,000 Meals A Day During COVID-19
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