Western Railway cleared any doubts of the railway network stopping its services after reports that Mumbai locals will be halted.
Taking to Twitter, Western Railway said, Commuters are informed that WR suburban services are running as per schedule.
Central Railway too put out a tweet saying that the services would be running as per normal
The Mumbai Metro authorities too said that "metro services are running as per normal schedule".
Earlier in the day, Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray will take a crucial decision on suspending Mumbai's lifeline, the local train services, for a few days, as one of the measures of 'social distancing' to prevent the spread of COVID-19, Health Minister Rajesh Tope said here on Tuesday.
Mumbai suburban local services are one of the busiest in the world, carrying 7.5 million commuters every day. This number, too, constantly rises with the ever increasing population in the city. As a result, both Western and Central Railway have been in the past prompted to increase the number of services.
Earlier in the day, there were speculations that the services would be halted. Not just the local trains, the suspension could also extend to the BEST the Mumbai Metro and monorail services, reported The Free Press Journal's Sanjay Jog.
The matter will be discussed at the state cabinet meeting on Tuesday afternoon as the government is firm that the coronavirus must not be allowed to spread from 'Phase II to Phase III' at any cost.
"There are options -- like fumigating all train coaches, limiting the number of commuters to the seats available in each bogey to avoid crowding -- being considered other than completely stopping the local train services," Rajesh Tope said.
India has so far recorded 125 positive cases and Maharashtra,with 39 cases has the highest number of victims. Three people, including one person from Mumbai has succumbed to the virus.
He had had a travel history to Dubai and had been suffering from several other health ailments, officials said.
