Lockdown impact: Only 8 lakh passengers travel by Mumbai locals

After the Maharashtra government imposed strict lockdown measures under the BreakTheChain campaign on April 14, the number of passengers travelling by local trains have significantly reduced

After the Maharashtra government imposed strict lockdown measures under the BreakTheChain campaign on April 14, the number of passengers travelling by local trains have significantly reduced. On average 800,000 passengers are travelling daily by local trains on the Central and Western Railway lines.

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Nearly 500,000 passengers travel by local trains on Central Railway (CR) and 300,000 passengers travel by local trains on the Western Railway (WR) currently.

Before the lockdown, 3.8 million passengers travelled by local trains on the Central and Western Railway, while two million travelled by trains on the CR and 1.8 million travelled by trains on the WR.

“We are not allowing any unauthorised passenger to enter the station premises. There are limited entry and exit points to the railway stations and strict checking of identity cards and medical documents of passengers are being done at the entrance of the railway stations.” said a senior railway official.

The Maharashtra government under its BreakTheChain measure to curb the spread of coronavirus did not suspend public transport services but has implemented restrictions including not allowing the general public to travel by local trains.

Only the citizens working in essential services, travelling for medical purposes and people travelling to and from vaccination centres are permitted to commute by the local trains.

Autorickshaws are allowed to have two passengers only, excluding the driver; taxis are allowed to operate with 50% of vehicle capacity, while Brihanmumbai Electric Supply and Transport (BEST) buses are not allowed to ferry any standees.