Last Updated : Sep 08, 2020 03:11 PM IST | Source: Moneycontrol.com

Mumbai local trains unlikely to resume services before November: Report

Local train services, which are otherwise used by over lakhs of passengers daily, continue to remain suspended for commuters, except those working in essential services and healthcare.

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The Maharashtra government had suspended local train services in March to contain the spread of coronavirus in the country. (Image: Reuters)

Mumbai’s "lifeline" suburban local train services may not resume at full-scale before November.

The Maharashtra government had suspended local train services in March to contain the spread of coronavirus in the country.

Local train services, which are otherwise used by lakhs of passengers daily, continue to remain suspended for commuters, except those working in essential services and healthcare.

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Talking to Economic Times, several officials revealed that they do not see local trains resuming services before November.

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“We are still getting around 2,000 cases per day in Mumbai, which was earlier on the mend. There are more cases being reported from Thane, Navi Mumbai, so there is no chance of opening up of local trains now. There hasn’t even been a discussion on this,” said an official.

The state government has eased a lot of COVID-19 restrictions, however, suspension of local trains continues to affect economic activities in the state.

On September 7, nearly 300 angry commuters staged a protest outside Virar railway station demanding permission to travel by local trains. The protest occurred at around 11 am when office-goers gathered outside the station and demanded the resumption of suburban train services, reported Hindustan Times.

Meanwhile, according to the report in The Economic Times, officials suggest that resumption of regular train services is not the top priority of the authorities at this point.

“We opened up districts and allowed people to travel to their native places during Ganesh utsav, and look at the increase in cases. Until a vaccine comes, or till we bring down the cases in Mumbai and its outskirts to manageable levels, there is no chance of allowing commuters to use local trains till then,” said the official.

Meanwhile, the tally of COVID-19 cases in Mumbai rose to 1,57,410 on Monday with 1,788 more people testing positive for the infection, while the death toll increased to 7,897, the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) told news agency PTI.

First Published on Sep 8, 2020 03:11 pm