48.89 lakh passengers us local train services

Nearly a month after local train services for essential workers resumed in the city, over 48.89 lakh passengers have travelled by the local trains.

Nearly a month after local train services for essential workers resumed in the city, over 48.89 lakh passengers have travelled by the local trains.

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Over 22.80 lakh passengers travelled by local trains on the Central Railway (CR), and 26 lakh travelled on the Western Railway (WR).

The railways have now decided to make it mandatory for essential workers to carry QR code-based e-passes from July 20.

Local train services in the city resumed for essential care workers on June 15.

Announcements on Western Railway stations asking essential workers to get QR code from their organisations, and carry them for identification to travel by local trains, are being made.

“We have been in constant touch with the state government for the operation of local trains. QR code-based e-passes will make it easier to identify and streamline the passengers. However, after nearly a month, the e-passes are yet to be issued,” said a senior WR official.

Essential workers have to display their identity cards before entering the railway station premises. Central and Western Railway are operating nearly 700 local trains daily for essential care workers.

Nitin Kareer, additional chief secretary, Maharashtra government, said, “The departments of the employees concerned should issue the identity cards with the codes as was decided in our first meeting with the railway authorities. We also had a system set for the issuance of such identity cards.”