55,000 women travel by Mumbai local trains on Day 1

The number of women commuters using locals was low on Wednesday, the first day they were permitted to travel by train. Till 8pm on Wednesday, approximately 55,000

The number of women commuters using locals was low on Wednesday, the first day they were permitted to travel by train. Till 8pm on Wednesday, approximately 55,000 women commuters travelled by local trains, with 25,000 on the Central Railway (CR) and 30,000 on Western Railway (WR).

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Railway authorities on Tuesday permitted women commuters to travel by local trains from Wednesday between 11am and 3pm, and post 7pm.

The Railway Protection Force (RPF) deployed 250 additional personnel at Central Railway (CR) stations. These included women RPF personnel during the stipulated time when women passengers were allowed to commute.

Passengers underwent thermal scans at the entrance of railway stations and their tickets were inspected by railway authorities.

Women commuters expressed relief over the decision to allow them to commute, but have asked for an increase in the stipulated time for commuting.

“I am very happy as women commuters are allowed to travel by local trains. I stay at Reay Road and used to travel to Kurla daily by BEST bus. It used to take me one and a half hours to reach my workplace. Travelling by local trains will definitely save time. The timings should be increased,” said Sofiya Shaikh, a Reay Road resident.

“The timings for women passengers should be increased to 5pm. Many women commuters have to work in different areas and cannot reach the railway stations by 3pm,” said Ankita Sinha, a Ghatkopar resident.

Many women passengers also used rail services to complete their pending housework. “I am travelling from Kanjurmarg to Dadar after more than seven months. Before the lockdown, I had booked furniture and home accessories but could not finalise the order. I am going to buy them,” said Shruti Kakkar, a Vikhroli resident who travelled by train on Wednesday.

The railways stated that they will increase services when the need arises. “There was no incident of overcrowding reported. We will be observing the commuter traffic pattern in the coming days,” said Shivaji Sutar, chief public relations officer, Central Railway.

The state government, under its Mission Begin Again initiative, on Friday had permitted women passengers to travel by local trains without QR code from October 17. However, the railways delayed it to October 21, seeking time to finalise the standard operating procedures.

CR is presently operating 706 local train services while the Western Railway (WR) is operating 704 services.