Mumbai: At railway stations across Mumbai, on Monday, the scenes seemed right out of a day in February 2020. On the first day that Mumbai locals were open to all, after 10 long months, there was chaos at ticket counters and the confusion over time slots had fewer commuters boarding trains. However, 34 lakh passengers travelled on the first day, on both Western and Central Railways, as compared to the 21 lakh who travelled on January 29, which means almost 42 per cent of commuters were back in action, as compared to March last year.
Starting on Monday, all were allowed to commute by local trains, from the first service of the day till 7am, then from 12pm to 4pm and after 9pm till the last train service of the day.
The serpentine queues outside ticket counters, however, did not add up to increased footfall in the train compartments, ostensibly because of the time slots in which the public is permitted to travel. People thronged ticket counters at major suburban stations like Kurla, Dadar, Ghatkopar and Nalasopara.
“Since the railways extended the validity of the monthly railway passes for passengers who could not travel due to the lockdown, the public rushed to railway stations to extend the validity of their passes,” said an official.
According to the railways, over five lakh Mumbaikars purchased tickets while 70,000 managed got seasonal passes. However, 22,756 tickets were re-validated on the very first day local trains resumed.
“I had only come to extend my monthly pass so that tomorrow I will not have to waste my time in a queue. Another consideration is the restricted travel time,” said Rajesh Khillari, a Kurla resident.
It was the same story outside Nalasopara railway station on WR, early on Monday morning.
“At Nalasopara station, there was a bit of crowd in the early hours for renewal of season passes. On explaining that the time slot from 7am to 12am are for nominated categories, the crowd dispersed.” said Sumit Thakur, chief public relations officer, Western Railways.
At Borivli, several people went to the station just to renew their passes and even here, trains were not as crowded as one would have anticipated, judging by the rush at the ticket counters. Commuters said, railway officials had not been issuing seasonal passes to everyone, as only essential service providers were allowed to travel.
“There are more people at the ticket counters than inside the trains. It took me 45 minutes to get my ticket,” said Dinesh Agarwal, a trader in Borivli.
“I am a pharmacist, but the railways have not issued me a pass, so I am here today just to renew my pass,” said Sameer Ahuja, another commuter.
Similar scenes were seen at Andheri station as well.
“I have not renewed my pass since the lockdown. Now that trains have resumed, there will be a crowd everyday so I decided to renew my pass today, to avoid the crowd,” said Sameer Hussain, a commuter.
To avoid crowding, the railways on Monday had opened all the entry and exit points at stations.
Local train services for the general public were suspended on March 23, 2020, after the coronavirus outbreak in the city. Services were resumed for employees in essential care on July 15, 2020. Cancer patients, differently abled commuters, women and lawyers were also allowed to travel by local trains.
Without masks:
WR: 237
CR: 275
Without Ticket (till 7 PM):
WR : 396
CR: 1600
