Mumbai: Central Railway to resume 100 per cent services soon; awaits nod from HQ

At present, over 90 per cent local train services are operational. File pic/Ashish Raje

As the city slowly inches closer to normalcy, Mumbaikars can expect its lifeline to run full steam soon, and a decision in this regard is expected this week. Officials from the Mumbai division of the Central Railway said they are all set to run 100 per cent of their local train services, but are awaiting a green light from the headquarters. At present, 90-95 per cent local train services are operational.

CR officials added that they would not be able to elaborate on the matter. But, as a part of the preparations, the Mumbai division has internally drawn up a plan and geared up the arrangements to restore services as soon as approvals come in. Western Railway (WR), Mumbai division, refused to comment.

As the number of commuters are nearing the pre-Covid-19 figure of 80 lakh, CR officials said the railways has finalised plans to increase the local train services from 90-95 per cent to 100 per cent. At present, 1,300 of the 1,367 suburban services are operational on WR and 1,686 of 1,774 on CR. When asked about a timeframe to operate 100 per cent services, officials said the flow of crowd has been increasing, and that it would be done as early as possible.

Commuters at Borivli railway station. Pic/Satej Shinde

"We have worked out the details to run 100 per cent services and sent them to the headquarters. Whenever we get approval, we can get it into effect without any delay," a senior divisional official from CR said.

Last Monday, as many as 60 lakh commuters travelled via local trains - 32.5 lakh on CR and 27. 61 lakh on WR. However, the average daily figure stood at about 40 lakh. Between October 1 and 18, an average of 20 lakh commuters travelled on CR daily, and the figure for WR stood at about 16 to 18 lakh. But, the officials said that the number is on a steady rise.

The need for more trains arose since the reopening of schools and colleges, which has led to an increase in crowds. According to the state government's guidelines, only monthly season tickets are issued to all vaccinated commuters.

15-car on CR from this week

CR officials said that as a first part of increasing services, they would be restoring 15-car local train trips from this week. The 15-car local trains have 33 per cent more passenger capacity as compared to existing 12-car trains, a senior official said.

A timeline on demand, approval for locals

July 9: Commuter bodies hand over plan to railways with an hourly commute capacity plan, based on official statistics of passengers and local trains called ‘Right to Travel'.
Aug 3: Commuter bodies protest at railway head office for public access to local trains for fully vaccinated.
Aug 6: BJP protests across city stations for public access to local trains for fully vaccinated.
Aug 9: CM announces local trains are opening for fully vaccinated from August 15.
Aug 10: Civic booths open at railway stations to authenticate vaccine certificates.
Aug 12: State government's app on vaccination certificate authentication made public.
Aug 15: Local trains open for fully vaccinated.
Aug 16: WR adds 99 more services taking the total to 1,300, and CR adds 74, taking the total to 1,686.