27 April,2021 05:47 AM IST | Mumbai | Rajendra B. Aklekar
A nearly empty Sayaji Nagri express, that goes to Bhuj, Gujarat, at Dadar station on Monday. Pic/Ashish Raje
Amid ups and downs in COVID-related restrictions on public transport and train travel, railways have given ticket refunds to the tune of Rs 300 crore in the four months of this year in Mumbai division alone.
"Many seemed to have booked tickets thinking COVID numbers would come down by April-May, but given the second wave and more lockdowns, there have been many cancellations and ticket refund requests have been piling up. In a number of cases, trains have been cancelled due to poor occupancy and curbs in states," a senior official said. As per the latest statistics, Central Railway's Mumbai division has given ticket refunds worth Rs 212 crore from January 1 to April 25.
In January, the refund amount was Rs 33.30 crore, in February it was Rs 41.04 crore, in March it was Rs 53.93 crore and till April 25, it is Rs 84.11 crore. On the Western Railway (WR), around 18.56 lakh passengers cancelled tickets, leading to refunds of Rs 104.66 crore for trains originating from Mumbai division.
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Most of these numbers are of long-distance trains, while short-distance outstation trains having low occupancy or poor patronage are being cancelled. CR has decided to cancel a number of trains, including nine pairs from Mumbai. These include - Mumbai-Manmad, Pune, Nagpur, Latur, Solapur, Jalna, Amravati, Bidar and Pune-Nagpur. The CR has uploaded the details on its website and social media accounts.
A train carrying tankers loaded with Liquid Medical Oxygen (LMO) that had left from Hapa, Gujarat on April 25, 6.03 pm, reached Kalamboli at 11.25 am on Monday. The oxygen tankers have been supplied by Reliance Industries, Jamnagar. The tankers are carrying around 44 tonnes of LMO. Arrangements were made at Kalamboli Goods Shed for smooth movement of the train. "The Oxygen Express reached Kalamboli from Hapa via Viramgam, Ahmedabad, Vadodara, Surat, Vasai Road and Bhiwandi Road. Green corridor was provided for faster movement," CR's chief PRO Shivaji Sutar said.
Rs 84.11cr
Amount of refund till April 25
