Local train passes to be available offline across 109 stations in Mumbai and MMR

The state government of Maharashtra and the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) recently permitted fully vaccinated citizens to travel by the local trains in Mumbai. The services will resume for the public from Sunday, August 15, 2021, under a condition that the passengers will have to be vaccinated with both the doses, and will have to collect the pass from the stations after producing the vaccination certificate. 

To implement the same effectively, the municipality has drafted a plan whereby 358 assistance centres have been set up across 109 stations in Mumbai and Mumbai Metropolitan Regions (MMR). The staff from the municipal corporation will be deployed at these centres who will be working in two shifts spanning from 7 am to 11 pm.

Passengers can visit these centres with their vaccination certificate and a photo ID proof. Moreover, passengers will only be given the pass if they have completed 14 days of post-vaccination period suggested by the medical experts. Only passes will be issued currently and one will not be able to purchase a ticket for the commute. This clarification has been issued since officials have been approached for the same and this has raised  confusion among the public who are fully vaccinated. 

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Documents required for the passes will have to be verified at railway stations and the process takes approximately 10-15 seconds, said the officials. An employee each from the BMC and other civic bodies has been posted, in two shifts, at the ticket windows at stations on West, Central and Harbour routes.

The staff has been directed to check the validity of the certificate using the CoWin app. Moreover, the photo ID proof will have to be submitted for the secondary verification. These documents will be stamped once the verification is confirmed to ensure the documents are checked and validated by the government. A pass will be issued further at the ticket windows upon presenting the stamped certificate.