Lockdown curbs eased, Mumbai sees rise in train travellers – Hindustan Times

With the easing of restrictions and reopening of schools, the city’s suburban railway network has witnessed a rise in the number of passengers.

On Monday, nearly 3.2 million passengers travelled by local trains on the Central Railway (CR) and 2.7 million passengers travelled by local trains on the Western Railway (WR). The WR currently has nearly 2.5 million passengers travelling by local trains as opposed to nearly 2 million in August, September and starting of October. The CR currently sees 3 million passengers, compared to 2.5 million in August, September and in the beginning of October.

Both the zonal railways have also seen a rise in the number of monthly season railway tickets issued. From Oct 1 until Monday, CR issued 520,000 monthly passes, with an average of 28,000 a day. The WR has issued 272,317 monthly passes from October 1 till October 18, with an average of 15,000 passes daily.

“The number of passengers has increased after the state government eased the restrictions. We continue to be vigilant and conduct surprise inspections by our commercial staff on the railway stations and inside local train compartments,” said a senior Central Railway official.

Passenger associations have asked the railways to operate local trains in full capacity, expecting a further increase in passengers. “As colleges reopen in Mumbai on Wednesday, the number of people travelling will rise further. Both the zonal railways should restart train services at 100% capacity,” said Subhash Gupta, president, Rail Yatri Parishad.