Transport expert feels this is so because railways probably did not prepare adequately, and the restricted rush hour timings are actually when most people commute
For many people, the access to trains provided huge relief. File pic/Ashish Raje
The number of average daily passengers on Mumbai locals has gone down from 80 lakh to 39 lakh. Three weeks after local trains were opened for the general public in Mumbai, the number of passengers remains less than half that of the pre-pandemic daily average at less than 40 lakh.
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“Since February 1, the number of passengers on Central Railway Mumbai has remained between 16 lakh and 23 lakh with the highest on February 17 at 23.58 lakh. On Western Railway Mumbai the highest number of passengers has been around 18.16 lakh on February 15. But more or less on an average the figures have remained less than 40 lakh, which is the half way mark of the normal suburban railway crowds,” a senior railway official said.
Expert speak
“The less crowds are probably because we did not prepare adequately. The restricted rush hour timings are when actually most people commute. I think this was an opportunity to create a proper system where you can allocate coach numbers and ensure that people who travel in a coach do not exceed a given number.
There was an opportunity to overhaul many existing infrastructure and other system challenges like ticket checking, not having closed doors, same entry and exit points, etc. But it was not done. The new system would have given commuters more confidence. Mumbai suburban trains were and will still remain the lifeline of common man. It's just how good do we want to make their lives,” public policy (transport) analyst Paresh Rawal said.
Action against violators
The campaign against non-use of masks has now been stepped up with 3,497 cases and penalties worth R8,06,900 collected on CR Mumbai between February 1 and February 21 and 2,200 cases with penalties worth R3,21,000 on WR Mumbai between the same period. To ensure COVID-19 medical protocols among railway commuters, BMC has stationed 100 clean-up marshals each on Central Railway’s main line, harbour line and Western Railway in city limits.
Mumbai local trains opened after a gap of 10 months with time restrictions for the general public, in three time slots— from the start of the day’s services to 7 am; 12 pm to 4 pm; and 9 pm to the end of the day. It was on March 22, 2020 midnight that for the first time in history, the lifeline of Mumbai and passenger trains were completely shut for eight days to start with in an unprecedented lockdown. The lockdown on public access to local trains remained till February 1.
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