Mumbai Local Train derails near Atgaon station; no casualties were reported

One of the coaches of the Mumbai local train derailed near Atgaon railway station, due to which the commute between Asangaon to Kasara was affected in the morning on Saturday, September 19, 2020. As per reports, the incident caused a standstill and the commuters travelling  to Mumbai has to change their journey. It is said that around nine passengers were travelling in coach, and no one was injured due to the incident.

Central Railways' chief PRO released the information that the incident happened at 7:28 AM on Saturday when the local train was on its way to Atgaon station. Due to the same, traffic between Asangaon to Kasara route was affected. Upon knowing the information, the Central Railway staff rushed to the spot and immediate efforts were made to clear the route. Furthermore, the restoration work was completed and the coach was remounted at around 10:30 AM.

As of now, the Mumbai local trains are running only for the essential workers, and the general public has not been given permission, due to the spread of coronavirus. Due to this, only a limited number of people are travelling by train, and only a limited number of services have been permitted by the government.

However, with services and the daily life resuming after the outbreak, the state government has asked buses and ST services to run across the city, to ensure the commute gets back to normal. Some employees in both public and private sectors are using BEST services, however, due to an increasing number of passengers, the buses are running full, and officials have noted a possibility in the spread of COVID-19 infection. 

People who are living away from the city of Mumbai and use Mumbai local trains as a mode of commute have staged protests demanding the services for the general public. However, the government has reluctant to start the same, as coronavirus cases in Mumbai and MMR regions are increasing exponentially.

As of September 20, 2020, the COVID19 tally in Maharashtra crossed 12-million mark. Mumbai has a total of 1,84,439 cases, as per the data released by the state health department the tally in Thane division has crossed 2,50,000 cases.