Unlock Mumbai: Step-by-step guide to avail railway pass for local train

Commuters stand in queue at BMC`s Covid-19 vaccine verification booth at Borivali railway station in Mumbai on August 11. Pic/Satej Shinde

Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray on Sunday announced that fully vaccinated people will be allowed to travel on the local trains from August 15. Thackeray said a digital app has been developed to facilitate applications from fully vaccinated commuters, who will be issued photo passes after verifying their vaccination status.

Mumbai local trains were shut down in April this year during the ravaging second wave of Covid-19. At present, only government employees and essential services staffers are allowed to travel in the suburban trains.

If you are fully vaccinated and have completed a gap of 14 days after the second dose, here is a step-by-step guide to avail the local train facility from August 15.

• Eligible commuters can apply on the specially-created app to avail special railway passes on their smartphones.
• Those who don't own smartphones can collect passes offline from local ward offices or suburban railway stations.
• Those who have completed the 14-day gap after the second dose of the vaccine are required to carry a hard copy of the vaccination final certificate and a photo ID for verification.
• Those eligible after verification will be allowed to travel August 15 onwards.
• These passes will have QR codes so that the railway administration can verify their authenticity.
• Help desks to be opened at 109 stations across the Mumbai Metropolitan Region (MMR). Beneficiaries can approach the nearest station to get verified.
• Strict police action under the Epidemic Control Act / Disaster Management Act/ Indian Penal Code will be taken if a citizen tries to produce fake/ bogus Covid-19 vaccination certificate, said the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC).