Railway minister Piyush Goyal approves Maharashtra govt's decision to resume Mumbai local services for general public

After the state government, the Union Railway Minister Piyush Goyal, on January 29, has also approved to resume local train services for all during non-peak hours from February 1, 2021.

Taking it to Twitter, Piyush Goyal stated that the travel for the general public will be allowed from the start of the first local train till 7 am. Later, from 12 pm to 4 pm in the afternoon and then post at 9 pm in the night. Whereas, during peak hours from 7 am to 12 pm and 4 pm to 9 pm, only essential service staff will be allowed.

महाराष्ट्र सरकार के आदेशानुसार सुबह 7:00 बजे से 12:00 बजे तक, तथा शाम 4:00 बजे से रात्रि 9:00 बजे तक मुंबई लोकल ट्रेन केवल आवश्यक सेवाओं में लगे स्टॉफ के लिये ही चलाई जायेंगी, व सामान्य यात्रियों के लिये यह उपलब्ध नही रहेंगी।

— Piyush Goyal (@PiyushGoyal) January 29, 2021

मेरे प्यारे मुंबई वासियों, आप सभी की सुविधा के लिये, 1 फरवरी से मुंबई लोकल ट्रेन, दिन की अपनी पहली सेवा के शुरु होने से सुबह 7:00 बजे तक, तथा दोपहर 12:00 बजे से 4:00 बजे तक, और उसके बाद रात्रि 9:00 बजे से ट्रेन सेवाओं के समाप्त होने तक शुरु की जा रही हैं।

— Piyush Goyal (@PiyushGoyal) January 29, 2021

Earlier in the day, Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray also announced that general public will be allowed to commute in the local trains during non-peak hours from February 1.

The government and railways have already started preparations for crowd control and management at the railway stations. As per sources, commuters would not be allowed to enter the premises without masks. The government also has plans to use police and other staff to prevent crowding.

The decision has been taken after a meeting held in the last week under the chairmanship of Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray. The meeting was attended by all the concerned officers of the state government, Mumbai Municipal Commissioner Iqbal Singh Chahal, Commissioner of Police Parambir Singh, General Manager of Central Railway and Western Railway.

Mumbai's lifeline, the suburban train services are closed for the general public for almost 10 months now. The decision to open the local trains for the general public has been consistently delayed. The COVID-19 situation in Mumbai seems to be under control and the number of cases has also come down. In addition to this, the ongoing vaccination drive has created favourable conditions for public services to be open to all.