A few days ago, the state had proposed to restart local trains for the general public in a staggered manner. However, the Railway Board remains mum regarding the return of Mumbai’s lifeline. Maharashtra’s minister of relief and rehabilitation Vijay Wadettiwar accused the Central government of "dirty politics over credit during such tough times".
Taking to Twitter, Wadettiwar wrote, “Mumbaikars are suffering through a lot of challenges. The Central government should stop politics over local trains for credit. Take full credit and start locals as early possible. Maharashtra government has already given plan and ready to co-operate further too.”
Mumbaikar are suffering through lot of challenges.Central government should stop politics over local trains for credit.Take full credit and start locals as early possible.
— Vijay Wadettiwar (@VijayWadettiwar) November 5, 2020
Maha government have already given plan and ready to co-operate further too. @WesternRly @PiyushGoyal
This statement came after Railway Minister Piyush Goyal on Thursday tweeted about the commencement of Railways in West Bengal from November 11.
📣 Railways will resume suburban services in West Bengal from 11th November.
— Piyush Goyal (@PiyushGoyal) November 5, 2020
With adequate safety measures in place, this will enhance passenger convenience and facilitate smooth travel for the people.
The railways sent their response the same day and asked for a meeting to formulate a standard operating procedure. But more than a week later, no such meeting has yet been scheduled.
Responding to his tweet, Western Railway (WR) said, “Railways is ready to run the services and have already started 88 per cent of daily local services in Mumbai in the view social distancing norms and safety of commuters. Railways have asked the state government to convene a meeting to finalise modalities for the safety of passengers which is yet to be done.”
The decision to regulate the services on the nation’s largest commuter train network has caused hardships to many residents of Mumbai’s satellite cities, especially the poor. As businesses open, many of the city’s workforce, who stay in faraway locations from commercial business districts in the city, have seen their daily commute time double as they attempt to reach Mumbai.
On October 28, the state government asked the Central and Western Railway for inputs on its proposal to allow the general public to start using local trains during non-rush hours with COVID-19 norms in place. The state’s proposal called for allowing any person holding a valid ticket or pass to board local trains before 7.30 am, between 11 am and 4.30 pm, and after 8 pm. It said the hours between 8 am and 10:30 am, and 5 pm and 7.30 pm, should be reserved for essential service workers. It also suggested one ladies special train every hour.
After receiving the letter, the Central Railway and Western Railway wrote back to the state authorities, stating that they could only accommodate up to 22 lakh passengers a day while adhering to COVID-19 protocols, and that the state government would need to make arrangements for the remaining commuters. More than 80 lakh passengers used local trains every day before the pandemic. The railways also wanted to know from the government how it planned to implement the segregation of passengers and enable social distancing.
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