Long queues at booking counters on Day 1 of Mumbai local trains for all

Day 1 of the reopening of trains for all did not see much crowd on the platforms and regular crowds inside trains at many stations Booking counters however witnessed long unrelenting queues with furious passengers wishing for some letup in restrictions on timings Read on to find out how major stations faredPolice personnel seen at Dadar station PicAshish RajeDadarmidday visited Dadar station on both the Western Railway and the Central Railway 6 am onwards There were few people at the station Around 120 Railway Protection Force RPF personnel and around six ticketcheckers enforced COVID rules along with around 100 home guards Many people travelled by the railways for the first time since the lockdown began midday noticed that a narrow staircase marked for use only to climb down was being used to go up despite signage put up by the railways Machines dispensing masks and sanitisers were also put upCommuters inside a local train at Borivli PicSatej ShindeBorivlildquoI should have planned this betterrdquo rued Borivli resident Suresh Sawant as he witnessed a long queue at the booking centre and contemplated cancelling the trip due to the delay At the platform commuters ran to board trains forgetting to wear the mask properly in the confusion Inside the trains there was no scope of social distancing although the number of commuters was comparatively lower However reaching work on time seemed to trump any COVID fears Commuters were heard ruing the restricted timings which do not help officegoers Traffic outside the station turned chaotic with time even as the promised police personnel were absent Though Borivli returned to the hustle and bustle of prepandemic days the crowds made people question if removing the restrictions would in fact be betterPeople buy tickets at Andheri station PicSayyed Sameer AbediAndheriAt Andheri while the ticket counter was empty at 6 am crowds started arriving from 12 pm onwards Commute to the station on the western side was jampacked Autorickshaw driver Viren Kumar Sharma 37 said ldquoThe autorickshaw queue has been growing since morning Business is better than the previous daysrdquo Most people at the booking centre did not stand in the circles marked for social distancing Sudeep Tawde 34 a social media professional said ldquoI had to change two buses to reach my workplace in Andheri in the morning What is the point of letting general public travel only between 12 pm and 4 pm Barely anyone travels at this timerdquo Kush Rajbhar 36 a computer repairman who came from Goregaon to Andheri in the afternoon said ldquoTrains will make our lives easier but my work starts at 9 am so the travel time slots defeat the purposerdquoCommuters inside a train at Wadala station PicShadab KhanWadala Railway stnDespite being the link between Harbour line and Western Railway the station surprisingly did not have crowds No police force was visible The taxi service an integral part of the station also had a low turnout Ashok Parte a civic employee returning from the first shift said ldquoI donrsquot see extra crowds It is surprising that despite the opening for all therersquos no surge in commutersrdquoKurla station saw one of the most timeconsuming queues at the ticket windows PicShadab KhanKurlaThe station that sees crowds throughout the day did not have much crowd on Day 1 But the delay at booking centres infuriated commuters The RPF was seen maintaining order Mohammed Abdul travelling to Diva spent 40 minutes in the queue ldquoIs this how they prepared for the reopening Instead of telling us to take care of COVID rules they should focus on reducing crowds at ticket windowsrdquo Harjiram Meena deputy station manager Kurla said ldquoWe are analysing the situation right now We will take steps accordinglyrdquoThe platforms at Vashi station did not see much crowdVashiThe major station in Navi Mumbai did not witness much crowd on Monday but queues for tickets were long Many opted for monthly passes Kopar Khairane resident Roshan Patil was going to office in Fort for the first time in 10 months ldquoThe odd slots will mean I have to work till late at night My shift used to be from 10 am to 5 pm I believe the timing will change nowrdquo Manju Shetty was travelling to Thane on the transharbour line around noon ldquoI donrsquot find much difference in the crowd at this time Earlier too there would be fewer passengers at this time I believe people want to work from home stillrdquo No security or additional force was seen at the platformsCommuter SpeakVishal Khunteta KandivliBusinessman with an office at Marine LinesGood that they started trains for all But the restricted timings do not make much sense My work has to match with bank timings Since itrsquos the first day I am trying to figure out if I can grab middle ground as with trains I can drastically reduce my commute timeDr Komal Panchal Borivli Travelling to Marine LinesBeing a part of essential services I have been taking the trains through the lockdown I have seen commutersrsquo approach from being cautious to casual There is so much crowd today and many are not adhering to norms on mask and social distancing It is a bit stressfulAnant Vishwakarma DahisarHeading to ChurchgateWhatever may be the crowd or the timing locals are the best Yes I will have to manage my work hours to suit the train timings but I donrsquot have a choice Not just affordable trains also save time and are much saferSanjay Ajmera BorivliTravelling to VasaiInstead of spending two hours on a bus one hour on a crowded train is better But this ticket queue is frustrating They railways need to go back to the regular timings as too many people are dependent on localsDhruvil Doshi BorivliTravelling to BKCI used to travel in my own vehicle and would spend hours in traffic That is going to change but they must think about the timings By the time one reaches office it will be post lunchBhola YadavAuto driver outside Borivli stationThe station and the parallel road are packed today after a long time The queue for tickets has spilled onto the road We hope this gives us more business on short routes with many now wanting to travel to and from areas near the stationText Pallavi SmartPics Satej Shinde Shirish Vaktania Pallavi Smart Gaurav Sarkar Anurag Kamble