Mumbai: Soon, long-distance passengers arriving or departing from Mumbai may be allowed to travel by the special suburban services run by the Central and Western Railway, pending approval by the railway board which is expected within the next two or three days.
This comes after the Government of Maharashtra, Disaster Management, Relief & Rehabilitation on Tuesday, requested the railway board to permit outstation train passengers to travel by local train.
“The Government of Maharashtra has conveyed that outstation train passengers should be facilitated by enabling them to travel by EMU services. When an outstation train passenger arrives at any station in Mumbai area he should be permitted to travel further by local train to reach his final destination in Mumbai. Similarly, when an outstation train passenger desires to take an outstation train he should be permitted to travel by local trains to move from his place of residence to the train originating station,” reads the letter issued by the Chief Passenger Traffic Manager (CPTM), CR.
Railway officials said they had received the letter from the state government on Tuesday evening and would write to the railway board for approval. “We need to follow protocol before allowing anyone to travel in local trains during the pandemic. Though we have received the request, we are waiting for the green signal to allow outstation passengers to travel in local trains. We have to finalise the modalities and Covid-19 protocol must be followed by passengers,” said an official.
