Union Railway Minister Piyush Goyal has said that they have not received any formal request from the Maharashtra government to run local trains for general public.
There has been a rising demand for the restarting of local trains in the Mumbai Metropolitan Region (MMR). During a press conference on Saturday, Piyush Goyal said that Ministry of Railways have not received a proposal from the state government to start local trains for everyone.
With no local trains for general public, Mumbaikars are facing tremendous hardships due to limited transportation facilities. While, the state continues to grapple with the COVID-19 pandemic, there is a growing demand among Mumbaikars for the restarting of local trains. The demand gained momentum, after Maharashtra government opened more offices.
The local trains were suspended for the general public since the lockdown began on March 22. The Western Railway and Central Railway resumed their Mumbai suburban services over mainline and Harbour line on June 15. These special suburban services were only for general passengers/public and were strictly meant for ‘essential staff’ as identified by the state government. Those working in private sector cannot use them, due to which most of them are struggling to reach their workplaces.
Meanwhile, Maharashtra continues to be the worst affected by the pandemic with 2,55,722 active cases, 11,49,603 cured and discharged cases and 38,084 deaths.
Maharashtra recorded 13,702 new coronavirus cases on Sunday, pushing the state's infection tally to 14,43,409, the health Department said. The death toll in the state rose to 38,084 with 326 fatalities, it said. So far, 71,11,204 people have been tested across the state, where the number of active cases is 2,55,281 at present, it said.
