Mumbai: Footfall to increase as suburban train services resume for vaccinated persons

Suburban train services were suspended for the general public on April 15 due to the rise in coronavirus disease cases in Mumbai during the second wave of the pandemic

The number of passengers travelling by local trains is expected to increase as services resume for fully vaccinated citizens.

Representational image. (HT Photo)

Anticipating a rise in the number of passengers next week, which could result in crowding, both the zonal railways will be increasing the number of local train services from Monday.

Thirteen-hundred local trains will operate on the Western Railway as opposed to the present 1201, and 1686 trains will be operated as opposed to the 1612 currently on the Central Railway.

Commuters were allowed to travel on the Mumbai suburban train network after four months on Sunday. Suburban train services were suspended for the general public on April 15 due to the rise in coronavirus disease cases in Mumbai during the second wave of the pandemic.

The eligibility criteria set by the Maharashtra government for travelling is to do so 14 days after receiving the second dose of Covid-19 vaccine. A universal pass has been made available to commuters both offline and online.

By Sunday evening, 130,064 monthly passes were issued to passengers on the suburban railway network. About 87,875 passes were issued by Central Railway and 42,189 by Western Railway.

On Sunday, low passenger turnout was witnessed on both the zonal railways. Approximately 1.2 million passengers travelled on the Central Railway and 1.1 million passengers travelled on the Western Railway.

As of now, on an average, nearly 2.3 million passengers travel on the Central Railway and 2.1 million passengers commute on the Western Railway everyday.

“We expect to see an increase in the number of passengers throughout the week. Sunday was a public holiday. We are expecting an increase in the number of commuters from today [Monday],” said a senior railway official. Before the pandemic, about 8 million commuters would travel by suburban trains in Mumbai every day.