‘Lack of railway travel is leading to job losses’

Essential services personnel at Kurla station in May. The CM is adamant that it is not yet time to reopen trains for all. File pic

Railway commuters postponed a mega protest slated for Tuesday to August 15 but handed over a petition to Central Railway officials to resume trains for all. Amidst the continued restrictions, passengers have argued that due to the battle between the state and Centre, the common man is losing jobs.

The women passengers' delegation that met railway officials gave a representation to the office of Divisional Railway Manager Shalabh Goel. They were told that the nodal authority taking decisions was the state government. The railways had beefed up security at Mumbai CSMT ahead of the protest.

"We have postponed the protests given the [Covid-19] situation but will visit the headquarters on August 15 and protest wearing black masks. Citizens staying far away are the most troubled and lack of railway travel is leading to loss of jobs, hence the protests," said Abhijit Dhurat, president of Maharashtra Railway Pravasi Mahasangh.

Railway officials said that as per national directives, it is the respective state governments that have been mandated to make decisions about public access to trains and local rail transport.

Also read: Mumbai local trains for all? Not yet, says Uddhav Thackeray

The decision to reopen trains for all is with the state. File pic

"The railways are saying that the state government will decide and in this battle between the State and the Centre, it is the common man that is suffering," another commuter said.

"If fully vaccinated passengers can travel by air, why not by local trains?" said Nandkumar Deshmukh, president of the Federation of Suburban Passengers Association.

Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray said last week that suburban trains will not be made available to all immediately and that private offices should alter shift timings to prevent crowds at offices and during travel. Wary of the anticipated third wave, the state government is undertaking a cautious and phase-wise unlock and Thackeray had said that allowing everyone on local trains is difficult in this phase.

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