In what may come as good news for Mumbaikars, the Central Railway and Western Railway are likely to resume 100 per cent suburban services operations soon for millions of commuters in Mumbai, Thane, Palghar and Raigad districts.
The move will come in wake of receding COVID-19 cases across the country.
At present, the Mumbai local train services are being operated at 95 per cent capacity, which is 1,300 services a day. The increase in capacity will take the number to 1,367 a day.
It has been 20 months since the unprecedented total stoppage of Mumbai’s lifeline as the suburban train services were suspended from March 22, 2020, till June 15, 2020, during the initial phase of the strict lockdown, badly hitting the 8.5 million-plus daily commuters of the Mumbai Metropolitan Region (MMR).
Thereafter, skeletal to partial services were operated for essential categories of commuters during the pandemic lockdown, and as restrictions eased, more categories were permitted to travel.
The latest move by the two railways is expected to reduce the current load on the highways and roads which have reported traffic jams almost daily with commuters facing massive delays in reaching their offices and homes.
The augmentation in local train services will also help the additional load expected as the state government is toying with the idea of permitting additional categories including the fully-vaccinated commuters.
The full load will help reduce the excruciating delays many people, including students, who are experiencing in the past few months to commute from home to office or the educational institutions, and return.
(With IANS inputs)
