Mumbai, October 28: The Maharashtra government wrote to the Indian Railways on Tuesday, asking the nodal rail body to allow the general public to board the local trains in a staggered manner. Time slots have been proposed, with the peak hours being reserved only for essential service providers. Once approved by the Railways, the proposal would allow all commuters in Mumbai to board the local trains. Mumbai Local Trains Will Be Available For All Passengers Soon, Tweets Maharashtra Minister Vijay Wadettiwar.

The letter, to the Central and Western Railways, was sent by the State Disaster Management and Relief department. The government asked the Railways to allow the general public to commute using the local train services, while adhering to the COVID-19 safety protocols.

Maharashtra Govt's Letter to Railways

As per the time slots proposed by Maharashtra government, all passengers with a valid ticket would be allowed to travel from first train in the morning till 7:30 am. From 8:00 am to 10:30 pm, only essential service providers will be allowed.

From 11 am to 4:30 pm, all ticket holders would again be allowed to board the trains, as per the proposal. The restrictions, barring non-essential service providers, will come into effect from 5 pm to 7:30 pm. The regulation would be lifted from 8 pm till the last train in the night.

The local train services in Mumbai and other parts of India were snapped since third week of March, after the lockdown came into effect to curb COVID-19 transmission. The rules were relaxed in May, after the Maharashtra government allowed essential service providers to board the select-number o trains that the Railways is operating in the city.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Oct 28, 2020 06:34 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).