Mumbai local trains: Huge sigh of relief for those in outer suburbs

Even as stations within Mumbai saw only slightly more commuters on Tuesday than Sunday and Monday those in the Mumbai Metropolitan Region MMR saw a huge rush of people getting their vaccine certificates verified and buying season tickets With a majority of the people who live in MMR relying on Mumbai for jobs commuters had been desperate for trains to resume operations As more people get vaccinated and become eligible to travel officials across stations are expecting crowds to increase in the coming weeksOn the first proper working day on Tuesday since trains resumed for the fully vaccinated railway stations did not see much crowding though there was a rise in passenger footfall Commuters heaved a sigh of relief at getting some convenience back into their daily commuteThe increase in crowds was more pronounced at booking counters as many turned up with their vaccine certificates to get their monthly passes The top stations for sale of passes were Dombivli and BorivliThe helpdesk to verify vaccine certificates at Andheri station on Tuesday PicPradeep DhivarldquoI will be travelling from today and hence am getting the pass I did not do it earlier because there was some confusion about dates I did not want to lose any daysrdquo Narendra Bhatkar a commuter at Thane station saidDadarAt Dadar while all entry and exit points were still barricaded there was no strict system to check the eligibility of every passenger entering the station However at ticket windows the rules were followedKirti Deshpande and Anuradha Golipkar travelling from Dombivli to Malad via Dadar were more than happy on Tuesday ldquoYes this comes with restrictions but these many are fine This might encourage vaccination toordquo said Golipkar who works for the FDA Food And Drug Administration ldquoTrain travel may also decrease the fear among people who continue to be at homerdquo said Deshpande who boarded a train after a long time ldquoSince the first lockdown this is the first time that I boarded a train It feels like life is coming back on trackrdquo she addedGeeta Gupta from Thane however questioned the requirement of full vaccination ldquoMy workplace is in Dadar and physical work has begun after August 15 But I still have to wait as I am yet to take my second dose What is the guarantee that the infection wonrsquot spread after taking the second dose I know people who have been vaccinated even after the second doserdquo said Gupta who was taking a bus from near Dadar stationPassengers at a footover bridge at Dadar station on Tuesday PicBipin KokateManoj Kumawat Bhayandar resident and a pharma professional who has been travelling under an emergency pass said ldquoThe crowd has definitely increased from today But they are more disciplined People are wearing masks not insisting on sitting close or on the fourth seat they are trying not to touch each otherrdquoVaishali Padmanan a Diva resident said ldquoThis disciplined travel should continue We cannot afford another lockdown amid the financial uncertaintiesrdquo Padmanan is pregnant and has been visiting KEM Hospital in Parel for regular checkups amid a lack of good facilities in Diva Pallavi SmartMulundGhatkoparMulund railway station which has the most footfall did not witness any chaos on Tuesday There were no long queues at the ticket counter or a mad rush at the helpdesks to get documents verified Kishor Jadhav an official from the T ward at the help desk said ldquoSince 7 am we have verified documents of 108 people till 11 am Therersquos not much crowd as most of the people got themselves registered before August 15rdquoSuraj Verma a Vikhroli resident who commuted for the first time after six months said ldquoAs the administration has done prior work I didnrsquot face any hurdles while travelling My travel time from Vikhroli to my workplace in Mulund had increased to two hours Thanks to the trains it will be down to 2030 minutesrdquoCommuters at a helpdesk at Mulund on Tuesday PicSameer MarkandeVVS Murthy commercial superintendent Mulund railway station said ldquoWe have been getting enquiries about tickets for travel Some wanted to go to the hospital or their college for work Some are asking if they really have to wait for 14 days after the second dose The crowd is less and it will gradually increase as people complete the required number of days after vaccinationrdquo Anurag KambleBorivliBorivli station did not see much crowding on Tuesday but there were long queues at ticket countersldquoI used to go to Nalasopara either by share auto costing R100 or by bus costing R60 Now I have taken a pass and can ride the localrdquo said Vivek Lapte Commuter Navin Jain had been travelling to his workplace in BKC on his twowheeler ldquoI took my second dose on August 4 and completed two weeks on Tuesday I am happy that I can travel by train againrdquo Jain saidldquoI am a health worker and I get a pass on my ID But I took both doses and got my certificate verified so that I donrsquot have to rely on my ID for travelrdquo said a woman on condition of anonymityA fullyvaccinated senior couple were in a quandary as they wanted to go to Dahanu for a single journey and did not want to take a monthly pass Sumita Rane who is not a regular traveller said ldquoMy sister stays in South MumbaiCommuters at Borivli station on Tuesday PicAnurag AhireShe has a job and sometimes needs help taking care of her daughter Though a monthly pass proves costly for us I donrsquot have any other option but to take itrdquoA ticket checker at the station told midday that the crowd had increased only slightly on Tuesday ldquoWe havenrsquot been told to intensify action as there is hardly any growth in passenger numbersrdquo she said Prajakta KasaleAndheriCompared to what the station sees when the trains are open to everyone Andheri had much lesser crowd during the morning peak hours Still there were more passengers on Tuesday than there were on August 15 It was also observed that passengers were following COVIDprotocols by keeping a safe distance and wearing masksBabaji Sawant a commuter going from Andheri to Churchgate said ldquoI was expecting a huge rush at the station as it is the first working day since the relaxation But to my surprise everything was properly managed and the entire process to get the season pass was hasslefree I am expecting the number of commuters to increase in the coming weeksrdquoThe booking counter at Andheri station on Tuesday PicPradeep DhivarA BMC official posted at Andheri station acknowledged the slight increase as compared to Sunday ldquoWe are expecting that the number of people coming to purchase season tickets will increase in the coming weeksrdquo the official said Ranjeet JadhavA timeline of the reopening of localsMarch 18 2nd wave starts setting in cases start going up Local train passenger numbers start fallingApril 9 CR suspends sale of platform ticketsApril 18 Footfall on locals plunges to 20 lakh a dayApril 22 CM limits locals to essential workersApril 23 WR shuts 174 entryexit points of total 266 access routes the CR blocked 67 of its 223 entryexit gatesApril 30 Lockdown extended for 15 daysMay 13 Lockdown extended for 15 daysMay 25 midday first pitches the idea of allowing fully vaccinated on local trainsMay 27 Lockdown extended beyond June 1June 7 Crowding in local trains begins as govt offices lift ban of 5037 attendanceJune 27 Railways say Maharashtra govt working on QRbased Universal Ticket pass for local trainsJuly 9 Commuter bodies hand over plan to rlys with an hourly commute capacityAug 3 Commuters protest at railway HQ for access to locals for fully vaccinatedAug 9 CM announces local train services open for fully vaccinated from August 15Aug 15 Local trains open to fully vaccinated after vax certificates authenticated1881Season tickets sold at Dombivli on Aug 112381Season tickets sold at Dombivli on Aug 16