Western Railways has decided to increase the number of daily special suburban services from 506 to 700 with effect from October 15.
The Central Railways has also planned to increase its suburban services from 453 to 700. As of now,
Central Railway operates 453 special suburban services for staff as notified by Government of Maharashtra. In order to maintain social distancing and avoid crowding, Central Railway has taken the decision to increase the number of daily special suburban services from 453 to 481 from 15th October 2020. The time table is being prepared for additional 219 suburban services to make it to 700 suburban services shortly.
According to officials, this decision has been taken to keep in mind the rules of social distancing in view of the pandemic.
The services were gradually increased earlier. On September 28, WR added six services including two “ladies special” services. The CR added 22 services on October 10.
The Bombay High Court had earlier appealed to the state government of Maharashtra with regards to the Mumbai Local Services. As of now, the suburban railways are being used by employees engaged in essential services, however, since the last few months, the number of commuters has increased, especially during the peak hours, as the officials have received several complaints regarding the same.
Meanwhile, Maharashtra on Tuesday reported 8,522 fresh cases of the coronavirus, taking the COVID-19 tally in the state to 15,43,837. Maharashtra also reported 187 new deaths in the last 24 hours, taking the death toll to 40,701. The state currently hosts 2,05,415 active cases. With 15,356 discharges in the day, the total number of recoveries stand at 12,97,252.