Mumbai: 100 per cent local train services from Oct 28, but no access to those not vaccinated

Railways' move comes after crowds soar following colleges reopening and easing of lockdown in most areas

Nineteen months after shutdown and a series of partial restorations in lockdowns, the Central and Western Railway on Monday announced 100 per cent restoration of local train services from Thursday, October 28, 2021, but public access to them remains restricted as no new categories have been permitted.

“Since crowds have been going up after college and school openings, we have restored services to pre-COVID levels. However, only categories identified by the Maharashtra government as on date are permitted to travel as per SOP,” a railway spokesperson said.

mid-day had highlighted in a front page report on Monday that a decision was expected on Monday.

It may be recalled that due to the COVID-19 lockdown from March 22, 2020, train services were stopped completely. Later, from June 15, 2020, Railways began suburban services for essential service categories as identified by the state government and approved by the Ministry of Railways. The categories of commuters who were allowed by the state government and approved by the Ministry of Railways were subsequently further increased in August 2021 and in recent weeks to travel in suburban trains.

Currently, CR and WR are running 1,702 and 1,304 suburban services on Mumbai division of CR and WR respectively, which is 95.70% of its total suburban services.
From October 28, Central and Western Railways will run suburban services to pre-COVID levels on the Mumbai division of CR and WR i.e. 100% services that is 1,774 on Central Railway and 1,367 on Western Railway.

MSRTC to hike fares 

The Maharashtra State Road Transport Corporation (MSRTC) on Monday decided to hike fares for all types of bus services from midnight due to a rise in diesel prices.  “We have decided to hike fares by around 17.17 per cent mainly due to rise in diesel prices. The revised fare will be effective from midnight. MSRTC is revising its bus fare after a gap of three years,” he said.

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