Migrants are back in huge numbers. As per the latest figures collated by both Central Railway (CR) and Western Railway (WR) since the partial lifting of the lockdown began, more than 25 lakh migrants have returned to Mumbai by trains so far from various states. While Rajdhani-type special trains began services from May 12, a limited number of special passenger trains began to ply from June 1 with reserved seats and COVID-19 protocols.

"Trains have been entering Mumbai from various states every day at regular intervals. On CR, there are 15 special trains going to the north and south and return back halting at stations like Kalyan, Thane, LTT and Mumbai CSMT. From the data of booked tickets and related statistics, a large number of passengers have entered the Mumbai Metropolitan Region (MMR) region and the number is in the range of 16.50 lakh on CR, with about 4 lakh in June, 6 lakh in July and 6.5 lakh in August 2020," a senior divisional official said. On WR too, there has been a similar trend with about 9,47,560 passengers entering Mumbai at two of its stations Mumbai Central Terminus and Bandra Terminus between May 12 and August 31.