Mumbai, January 31: Mumbai local trains, popularly referred to as the lifeline of the maximum city, is all set to resume operations for general public from Monday, February 1, 2021. Mumbaikars were restricted from travel by local trains after the coronavirus outbreak in March 2020. The local trains in Mumbai is believed to be the lifeline for millions of people living in the city and surrounding satellite towns. The decision by the Maharashtra government brought cheers among commuters. Railway Minister Piyush Goyal tweeted saying, "My dear Mumbai citizens, for the convenience of all of you, the Mumbai local train will be started from February 1".

The Maharashtra government has allowed local trains for all in Mumbai in staggered manner. The local trains will be available in three time slots from the start of the day's services to 7 am, 12:00 noon to 4:00 pm and 9:00 pm to the end of the day.

Here's all you need to know about the resumption of local train services in Mumbai

  1. The local trains will be available in three time slots- from the first service of the day till 7 am. The second slot will begin from 12 noon to 4 pm while the third slot for the day will start from 9 pm to the last local train service. The timing has been restricted to avoid crowding owing to COVID-19 pandemic.
  2. In between 7 am to 12 noon and from 4 pm to 9 pm, only people engaged in essential services will be allowed to use local train services in Mumbai. This means, general public will not be allowed during the gap hours.
  3. Railway Minister Piyush Goyal urged Mumbaikars to follow all necessary rules and guidelines related to Coronavirus during the journey. "Any kind of negligence can become a problem for us and others as well. If you will be safe, then everyone traveling with you will be safe," Goyal said.
  4. Local train services had started for essential services staff in June 2020. After this, railway authorities permitted women to travel in locals during the non-peak hours.

Prior to the pandemic, the Central Railway was operating 1,774 suburban services daily, while the Western Railway operated 1,367 services. Currently, the two railway authorities are operating 2,985 services, about 95 per cent of the total 3,141 services, on Mumbai's suburban network. Of these, 204 special suburban services were added on Friday morning.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Jan 31, 2021 04:24 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).