The Mumbai local train services have resumed for the general public who have been fully vaccinated against the coronavirus (COVID-19). The services were stopped in March 2020 keeping the pandemic in mind, however, post the relaxation, only the workers from the essential services were allowed to travel in the train.
After due consideration, Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray allowed selected public to travel in the trains from Sunday, August 15, 2021. Strict protocol is being followed by the railway officials and the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) while issuing the passes.
Also Read: Maharashtra Unlock: More Than 34,000 Monthly Local Train Passes Issued in One Day
Officials have stated that the suburban train was sparsely crowded due to the public holidays on Independence Day and Parsi New Year, where the government offices are closed on both Sunday and Mondays. However, the number of people who have been getting monthly passes has seen a rise in the last 3 days.
Passengers who have taken both the vaccines and waited 14 days post the second vaccination are currently permitted for the commute. Long queues and crowd is being noticed at the help desk every day across several railway stations in the city. The public has been asked to produce the vaccination certificate and photo ID proof for verification post which the monthly pass is being issued at the ticket window.
Also Read: Mumbaikars Give Credit to Maharashtra Government for Resumption of Local trains
As a result, the railways has noticed long queues in front of ticket windows, even during the non-peak hours. As of now, the government has agreed to issue only monthly passes and this decision has not been appreciated by the public.
Data reveals that a total of 92,324 monthly passes were sold on Central Railway from August 11 to 15 2021, whereas a total of 44,487 passes have been sold on the Western Railway during the same period. The highest number of passes have been purchased at the Borivali station on the Western line. The CR saw the highest number of monthly pass sales on Monday, August 16, 2021, whereby a total of 25,124 passes were sold in 12 hours, i.e. from 7 am to 7 pm.
Also Read: Local train passes to be available offline across 109 stations in Mumbai and MMR
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