Updated: November 3, 2020 11:15:28 pm
For a linear city like Mumbai, suburban train services play a vital role in facilitating the north-south movement of the city’s workforce.
The Maharashtra government and the railways disagree on the restart of Mumbai suburban train operations, the life line of the metropolis, without restrictions on who can use the services. Currently, only certain categories of people, including essential services personnel and women, can travel on local trains. In this article we explain why the two disagree and how this is not the first time that the Maharashtra government and the railways have faced each other.
What proposal has Maharashtra made to open train services to the general public?
More than seven months after it decided to shut down suburban train services in the wake of the pandemic, the Maharashtra government on October 28 wrote a letter to the railways proposing that the general public be allowed travel on local Mumbai trains during off-peak hours and follow Covid-19 regulations.
The proposal suggested that anyone with a valid ticket or pass can board local trains until 7.30am. M., Then between 11 a. M. And 16:30 p.m. He also said that the time between 8 a.m. He also suggested that there should be a special women’s train every hour.
Have the Railways accepted the proposal?
Five days after the state wrote the letter, Ferrocarriles has yet to make a decision on opening services to the general public. After receiving the letter, Railways said it was in a position to carry only 22 lakh of passengers while adhering to Covid-19 protocols.
More than 80 lakh of passengers used the suburban train system on a daily basis in the days leading up to the pandemic. The Railways also wanted to know from the government how it plans to address passenger segregation and allow for social distancing. Since the Maharashtra government wrote the letter, the Railways, however, has decided to add 1,363 services. This brings the total number of services to 2,773, which is 88 percent of the total of 3,141 services that ran in the pre-Covid period.
Senior rail officials have said they are awaiting a meeting with strategic government officials to determine the modalities of service delivery to the general public. Officials hope that the decision to start services can be made after the meeting.
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Why aren’t the state and the railroads on the same page when starting services?
The Maharashtra government has said that Railways was deliberately stopping its decision. Congress leaders had previously claimed that the Railways acted at the behest of the BJP. Maharashtra Interior Minister Anil Deshmukh has called on the railways not to play politics on the issue. “People will not face inconvenience if the railways cooperate well. Therefore, the Railways administration should cooperate with the government without introducing any policy on this, ”Deshmukh said. The state’s decision to resume local trains comes because it wants to win goodwill by starting services before Diwali. State officials said the Railways was deliberately delaying the decision as requested by the state government.
Has the Maharashtra government and the railways clashed before too?
In mid-October, the Maharashtra government issued a directive stating that women would be allowed to travel on local trains. Minutes later, the Railroads sent a letter to the government telling it that it was not possible to start services until it received authorization from the Railroad Board. He also recommended holding a joint meeting of the railways and state government officials to define the modalities. It finally gave in a few days later.
There were also differences between the two over the launch of special trains that facilitate the movement of people to the Konkan districts for Ganesh Chaturthi in August. In May, a war of words broke out between the Minister of Railways, Piyush Goyal, officials and Maharashtra over the operation of the Shramik special trains, and the Railways accused the state government of failing to get passengers to the stations in time to board. these trains.
Why is commuter rail service important for Mumbai?
For a linear city like Mumbai, suburban train services play a vital role in facilitating the north-south movement of the city’s workforce. The two suburban systems operated by Western Railways and Central Railways extend for 319 km. It facilitates inter-district travel for travelers in five districts, namely Mumbai, Mumbai Suburban, Thane, Palghar and Raigarh.
The decision to regulate services on the country’s largest commuter rail network has caused difficulties for many residents of Mumbai satellite cities, especially the poor. As businesses open, many of the city’s workers, staying far away in the city’s business districts, have seen their daily commute time double when trying to reach Mumbai.
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