For the convenience of passengers during Ganeshotsav and to clear the extra rush during the festive season, the Central Railway (CR) and Western Railway (WR), on Friday, announced that they will operate special trains from Mumbai to Konkan in Maharashtra.
These trains will be fully reserved trains. The passengers have been advised to adhere to all the norms and SOPs related to COVID-19 during the boarding, travel and at destination.
Every year, lakhs of devotees from Mumbai and other cities travel to their native places in Konkan for the festival. This year, the festival starts on August 22 .
Shivaji Sutar, chief public relation officer, CR, said they will run 162 special trips and bookings ‘with special charges’ will start from August 15.
“Eight special trains will ply on four routes (Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Terminus (CSMT) to Sawantwadi, Lokmanya Tilak Terminus (LTT) to Kudal, LTT to Ratnagiri and LTT to Sawantwadi) from August 15 to September 5,” said Sutar.
Western Railway will run 20 trips of five special trains, which includes two from Mumbai Central to Sawantwadi Road, two from Bandra Terminus to Sawantwadi Road and one from Bandra Terminus to Kudal on special fare. "Western Railway will run 20 trips of five Special trains -- two from Mumbai Central to Sawantwadi Road, two from Bandra Terminus to Sawantwadi Road and one from Bandra Terminus to Kudal on special fare," said Sumit Thakur, CPRO, WR.
Notably, on Thursday the CR had claimed in a statement that it was ready to run Ganapati special trains for Maharashtra's coastal area, but the state government had not given a final go ahead. In view of the pandemic, the state government has made 10-day home quarantine mandatory for the visitors on reaching their destinations.
