Maharashtra : Local Trains Operation To Resume For Residents

Mumbai : Lockdown in Maharashtra is extended till October 31 but the permission has been given to resume the local train service with immediate effect.

Guidelines for new ‘Mission Begin Again’ have been issued by the Government of Maharashtra On Wednesday. In this, local train services in Pune region, including the Pune-Lonavala have been resumed which had been shut since March 25. Apart from allowing all trains originating and ending their journeys within Maharashtra, the guidelines allowed local train operations for common citizens.

“Local trains in Pune region can resume services as per the protocol and procedure followed in MMR region. The Commissioner of Police, Pune will be the nodal officer to coordinate the same,” the guidelines stated.

Pune Division Railway officials said they will meet the Pune Police Commissioner soon to decide on the manner in which services can be restarted. Only government employees and essential services providers are allowed to use local trains in Mumbai. Some exceptions have been made for students, lawyers and tiffin providers who have been provided QR codes.

Until now, ‘Panchavati Express’ has been run by Central Railway as a special intercity train service between Mumbai and Manmad via Nasik, and another between Dadar and Sawantwadi Road. But now in the guidelines issued on Wednesday said, “all trains originating and ending their journey within the state will be restarted with immediate effect subject to protocols by the state and central government from time to time.”

Spokespersons for both CR and WR said that they would conduct a review and take a decision on increasing the number of local train services in Mumbai on Thursday. Subhash Talekar, president of the Mumbai Dabbawala Association, said welcoming the decision to allow dabba-men to board local trains that “It would give a boost to the around 5,000 dabbawalas in the Mumbai Metropolitan Region who have been without work for the past few months.”