While there have been talks to resume the Mumbai local train services in the city as the COVID-19 cases witnesses a downward trend, according to the latest reports, it has come to light that Central Railway General Manager Sanjeev Mittal said that they were ready to run suburban trains for the general public.
However, the central railway administration is waiting for a formal approval from the Maharashtra government that had some concerns, hinting at a graded reopening of train operations in the state.
On Friday, January 22, Mittal made this statement during a press meet after he inspected various works on the Kolhapur-Satara route in the Pune section of Railways.
Of the 1,774 local train services, about 1,580 were already in operation and about 20 categories including women commuters have been allowed to travel, said Mittal. Women are allowed to travel via local trains only in a specific timeframe and not all through the day.
Besides, people all walks of life, including passenger associations, have been demanding resumption of local trains, the lifeline of the maximum city. As the rising fuel cost, traffic and time spent in travel has put an additional financial burden on the public.
Last week, Kalyan-Kasara Railway Passengers Welfare Association demanded that at least students should be allowed to travel.
Meanwhile, last month, the Maharashtra Health Minister Rajesh Tope had said that a decision to allow general commuters to board suburban trains in Mumbai will be taken after considering the trend of COVID-19 cases in New Year.
Share
Tweet
