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

Workers from the essential category are allowed to board local trains at present

Suburban trains will not be made available to all immediately, said Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray, who wants the timings of private offices altered to facilitate shifts to avoid crowding of workplaces and transport.

Thackeray said on Monday afternoon in Sangli, "Allowing all on the local trains is difficult in this phase. We will relax curbs in phases and review the impact before taking any further decision [about suburban trains]."

Last week, the Cabinet and Covid Task Force had discussed train travel for fully vaccinated people, but there was no consensus even as commuters have asked for permission.

Uddhav Thackeray, CM

Sources said the state cabinet on Tuesday is likely to discuss access to Mumbai's suburban trains. The HC has asked the state to prepare a comprehensive plan for allowing fully vaccinated people to travel and since the new guidelines issued on Monday allowed all government and private offices to work with full capacity, the city and its metropolitan region would need additional passenger-carrying capacity on their mass transit systems.

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In the wake of this changed scenario, there might be some relaxations with regards to local travel.