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

People from places like Dombivli, Mira Road, Vasai-Virar, the worst affected by lockdown, embrace reopened locals, even as city stations see low footfall

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

The ticket counter at Mira Road station witnessed large crowds on Tuesday

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 weeks.

On 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 commute.

The 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 Borivli.

The helpdesk to verify vaccine certificates at Andheri station on Tuesday. Pic/Pradeep Dhivar

“I 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 days,” Narendra Bhatkar, a commuter at Thane station said.

Dadar

At 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 followed.

Kirti Deshpande and Anuradha Golipkar, travelling from Dombivli to Malad via Dadar, were more than happy on Tuesday. “Yes, this comes with restrictions, but these many are fine. This might encourage vaccination too,” said Golipkar, who works for the FDA (Food And Drug Administration). “Train travel may also decrease the fear among people who continue to be at home,” said Deshpande, who boarded a train after a long time. “Since the first lockdown, this is the first time that I boarded a train. It feels like life is coming back on track,” she added.

Geeta Gupta from Thane, however, questioned the requirement of full vaccination. “My 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 won’t spread after taking the second dose? I know people who have been vaccinated even after the second dose,” said Gupta, who was taking a bus from near Dadar station.

Passengers at a footover bridge at Dadar station on Tuesday. Pic/Bipin Kokate

Manoj Kumawat, Bhayandar resident and a pharma professional, who has been travelling under an emergency pass, said, “The 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 other.”

Vaishali Padmanan, a Diva resident, said, “This disciplined travel should continue. We cannot afford another lockdown amid the financial uncertainties.” Padmanan is pregnant and has been visiting KEM Hospital in Parel for regular check-ups amid a lack of good facilities in Diva.
- Pallavi Smart

Mulund-Ghatkopar

Mulund 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, “Since 7 am, we have verified documents of 108 people (till 11 am). There’s not much crowd as most of the people got themselves registered before August 15.”

Suraj Verma, a Vikhroli resident who commuted for the first time after six months, said, “As the administration has done prior work, I didn’t 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 20-30 minutes.”

Commuters at a helpdesk at Mulund on Tuesday. Pic/Sameer Markande

VVS Murthy, commercial superintendent, Mulund railway station, said, “We 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 vaccination.”
- Anurag Kamble

Borivli

Borivli station did not see much crowding on Tuesday, but there were long queues at ticket counters.

“I 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 local,” said Vivek Lapte. Commuter Navin Jain, had been travelling to his workplace in BKC on his two-wheeler. “I took my second dose on August 4 and completed two weeks on Tuesday. I am happy that I can travel by train again,” Jain said.

“I 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 don’t have to rely on my ID for travel,” said a woman on condition of anonymity.

A fully-vaccinated 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, “My sister stays in South Mumbai.

Commuters at Borivli station on Tuesday. Pic/Anurag Ahire

She has a job and sometimes needs help taking care of her daughter. Though a monthly pass proves costly for us, I don’t have any other option but to take it.”

A ticket checker at the station told mid-day that the crowd had increased only slightly on Tuesday. “We haven’t been told to intensify action as there is hardly any growth in passenger numbers,” she said.
- Prajakta Kasale

Andheri

Compared 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 COVID-protocols by keeping a safe distance and wearing masks.

Babaji Sawant, a commuter going from Andheri to Churchgate, said, “I 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 hassle-free. I am expecting the number of commuters to increase in the coming weeks.”

The booking counter at Andheri station on Tuesday. Pic/Pradeep Dhivar

A BMC official posted at Andheri station acknowledged the slight increase as compared to Sunday. “We are expecting that the number of people coming to purchase season tickets will increase in the coming weeks,” the official said.
- Ranjeet Jadhav

A timeline of the reopening of locals

March 18: 2nd wave starts setting in, cases start going up. Local train passenger numbers start falling
April 9: CR suspends sale of platform tickets
April 18: Footfall on locals plunges to 20 lakh a day
April 22: CM limits locals to essential workers
April 23: WR shuts 174 entry-exit points of total 266 access routes, the CR blocked 67 of its 223 entry-exit gates
April 30: Lockdown extended for 15 days
May 13: Lockdown extended for 15 days
May 25: mid-day first pitches the idea of allowing fully vaccinated on local trains
May 27: Lockdown extended beyond June 1
June 7: Crowding in local trains begins as govt offices lift ban of 50% attendance
June 27: Railways say Maharashtra govt working on QR-based Universal Ticket pass for local trains
July 9: Commuter bodies hand over plan to rlys with an hourly commute capacity
Aug 3: Commuters protest at railway HQ for access to locals for fully vaccinated
Aug 9: CM announces local train services open for fully vaccinated from August 15
Aug 15: Local trains open to fully vaccinated after vax certificates authenticated