COVID-19: Fearing lockdown, crowd gathers at Kurla LTT; officials say routine summer rush

Crowd outside Lokmanya Tilak Terminus (LTT) in Kurla.

Fearing an impending lockdown in Maharashtra amid a spike in COVID-19 cases, huge crowd gathered at Lokmanya Tilak Terminus in Kurla to board express trains, even as the railways announced a host of special trains to clear summer rush.

The railway officials said there is no need to panic as there is no shortage of trains and they are monitoring the situation on a real-time basis.

Unlike last time when the railways had run unreserved special trains, this time only confirmed passengers are being allowed to board.

"There was more crowd and chaos on the road outside the railway station as only allowing confirmed ticket passengers are allowed to enter the station premises. A number of special trains have been lined up since the past few days, but the crowds still continues," a GRP railway police official said.

Crowd outside Lokmanya Tilak Terminus (LTT) in Kurla.

Central Railway chief public relations officer Shivaji Sutar said this is routine summer rush and crowd is less as compared to the same period in the past years "Hence, there is no reason to panic. Trains will continue to run and we are ensuring that passengers don't face any inconvenience," Sutar said.

He added that there are 23 trains today (April 13) from Lokmanya Tilak Terminus (LTT) in Kurla. "Of the 23 trains, 17 are north and east bound trains and five are summer specials. So far, 106 north and east bound summer specials have been announced and we are running more additional trains. People are requested not to panic and rush towards stations," Sutar said.

Western Railway chief public relations officer Sumit Thakur said they are monitoring the waiting list on a real-time basis and announcing trains based on the requirement.