Mumbai: 11.5 lakh additional commuters take local trains on Day 1 of restart

Commuters jostle to board a local at Borivli station around 12.30 pm on Monday. Pic/Nimesh Dave

Ten months after the pandemic slammed the brakes on local trains, Mumbai's lifeline took the first step towards normalcy on Monday. The suburban network did not burst at the seams but recorded a robust footfall.

A serpentine queue for tickets and passes at Andheri on Monday. Pic/Sayyed Sameer Abedi

"Travel figures reached 42 per cent of the pre-Covid numbers on Monday, an addition of 11.5 lakh passengers over the last working day (Jan 29). About 34 lakh passengers travelled on CR and WR as compared to 80 lakh per day in regular times," said an official. The AC local also saw a five-fold jump in sale of season tickets.

Dadar station remained crowded throughout Monday. Pic/Sayyed Sameer Abedi

Those who took the locals were clearly excited. mid-day met Naurddin Sayeed and his wife Asma who had boarded a train at Mira Road before 7 am, the morning window for all. "We returned home during the 12-4pm slot. "We had been spending a lot of money and time on auto for the past 8 to 9 months. We are happy today," said Asma. At night, the general public is allowed after 9 pm.

CSMT saw a moderate crowd on the first big day after lockdown. Pic/Suresh Karkera

Dadar resident Prajakta Ghorpade took a train to attend a wedding at Ghatkopar along with her daughter Ishita and mother Sugandha. "It would have taken at least an hour. Trains are the best, said Prajakta, adding that people should wear masks and keep social distancing.

IT students Aryaman Bhattacharya from Powai, Shrikant Bitla and Prabhadevi resident Vamshi Vemula were ecstatic. Aryaman, a professional YouTuber, said they took buses to reach their college at Dadar since they had classes after 9 am, but could return on the train. "The railways should allow students going to classes, at all hours."

mid-day spotted moderate crowds at busy stations like CSMT, Mumbai Central, Churchgate, Kurla and Thane. Dadar, however, remained crowded throughout the day. Serpentine lines of ticket seekers were seen at Nalasopara and Virar. WR chief PRO Sumit Thakur explained the surge at Nalasopara, "On explaining to the crowd that slots beyond 7 am till 12 pm are for nominated categories, they dispersed."
At Kurla, RPF personnel stepped in to streamline commuters outside the ticket counters in the afternoon.

The big leap in footfall
Jan 29 figures
WR: 9.50 lakh
CR: 13 lakh
Total: 22.5 lakh

Feb 1
WR: 15 lakh
CR: 19 lakh
Total: 34 lakh

Ticketless travellers caught
CR: 1,600 (R5 lakh fine collected)
WR: 396 (R1 lakh fine collected)