We can ferry only 22 lakh commuters daily: CR, WR tell Maharashtra

Known for its extremely dense crush load and crowding Mumbais lifeline will now be able to ferry only about 275 per cent or 22 lakh passengers 124 lakh on Central Railway and 96 lakh on Western Railway at full capacity instead of the usual 80 lakh amid COVID19 protocolsResponding to the Maharashtra governments call overnight to open local trains for the general public the Mumbai railways on Thursday said they were ready to do so but with a passenger cap and subject to the development of technological solutions discussed with the state government to streamline crowdsCommuters in masks at Churchgate PICBIPIN KOKATERejecting hourly ladies special trains the railways said both CR and WR had created additional capacity for women commuters and hourly specials will only create an artificial surge and accumulation of crowds at stationsAlso ReadMumbai local Railways ready to resume services says will work with stateWhat CR saidCR in its response said In preCOVID regime CR was running 1774 local trains daily ferrying 45 lakh passengers with an average occupancy of 2537 passengers per train It was not evenly distributed as maximum passengers were travelling in peak hours between 7 am and 11 am and from 4 pm to 8 pm with occupancy going up to 4500 passengers per trainOn an average CR carried 2537 people per train in preCOVID timesPresently 706 suburban trains are being run ferrying 457 lakh passengers with social distancing As per COVID19 protocols a safe number of passengers per local train would be 700 So even if we start all 1774 services we can transport a maximum of 124 lakh passengers daily The state government would need to take a call on means of transport for the remaining 33 lakh passengersCR added it will provide all statistical inputs and that a meeting to address this should be called at the earliestWhat WR saidThe WRs response said In preCOVID times WR was running 1367 local trains daily ferrying 35 lakh passengers with an average occupancy of 2560 passengers per train unevenly distributed Presently 704 suburban train services are being run ferrying 395 lakh passengershellip If we start all 1367 services we can transport a maximum of 96 lakh passengers dailyBoth the railways urged the state government to address the segregation of passengers enable social distancing through technological solutions and support of the policeWR added that it is running six ladies specials in addition to the reservation of 23 per cent seats for women in regular trainsGo ahead and resume trainsThe responsibility of controlling COVID19 numbers and treating patients is that of Maharashtra government Knowing this the state government itself asked railways to resume local trains then what is the railways problem They should just go ahead and throw the railways open and let the state government manage the rest Subhash Gupta member of National Railway Users Consultative Committee saidEssential services employees in masks are seen at CSMT PICASHISH RAJETransport expert Ashok Datar on the other hand adopted a more cautious tone Providing everyone access to local trains is indeed a great step but it is fraught with serious problems We must not allow unconditional access No metro or bus system can match local trains in popularity and contribution to economic activity But lets prescribe basic conditions such as no freeforall allow hourly women specials insist on staggering office hours start with government offices We need to make buying tickets easy through the internet or shops near stations Staff must ensure that nobody entersexits stations without masks Datar saidKeep scrolling to read more newsCatch up on all the latest Mumbai news crime news current affairs and a complete guide from food to things to do and events across Mumbai Also download the new midday Android and iOS apps to get latest updates MidDay is now on Telegram Click here to join our channel middayinfomedialtd and stay updated with the latest news