Mumbai’s lifeline, the suburban local railway network that has been suspended for the public since March 22 because of the raging coronavirus disease (Covid-19) outbreak, is unlikely to resume before November.
The suspension of train services has led to the passengers getting angry and staging protests outside railway stations.
Around 300 angry commuters staged a protest outside Virar railway station on Monday afternoon, demanding permission to travel by local trains. The incident occurred at around 11 am when office-goers gathered outside the station and demanded the resumption of suburban train services.
The protest petered out within half an hour after the agitators were pacified by the Railway Protection Police (RPF), Government Railway Police (GRP) and local police personnel.
Earlier on July 22, angry commuters at Nalasopara had demanded that they be allowed to travel by local trains. The protesters had broken barricades and stood on tracks to disrupt train services.
At present, frontline essential service workers, who are battling the Covid-19 pandemic, are only allowed to commute by suburban trains in Mumbai.
Railway officials said train services, which were suspended on March 22 due to Covid-19, are unlikely to resume in their full capacity until Diwali in mid-November.
On June 15, a limited number of local train services resumed for employees working in essential services. Nearly 700 train services are being operated daily on the Central and Western Railway routes.
“There has been no discussion regarding the resumption of suburban train services for the public. A trial-based system of a quick response (QR) code is being tested in a bid to control crowds on the railway stations. Train services in full strength are not likely to resume before Diwali.” said a railway official
The delay in the resumption of train services has angered passengers.
Passenger associations have sought Maharashtra chief minister Uddhav Thackeray’s intervention to resolve the crisis.