The railways collected over Rs 17 crore from about 3.5 lakh ticketless travellers on local trains in the past four months, a sign of people’s desperation to use the city’s lifeline. Mumbai’s suburban network opens for the fully vaccinated individuals on August 15.

Local train access for the general public was given in February 2021 but was stopped on April 22, just before the second wave hit the city. Since then the trains have been restricted to essential workers and government staff.