Decision to allow all on suburban trains soon, says Maha CM

A decision on allowing allcommuters to board suburban train services in Mumbai will betaken ''soon'', Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray saidon Monday.

He made the statement after chairing a review meetinghere on the issue of resumption of suburban train services,currently available only for select sections of commuters, forall members of the public.

According to an official statement, several optionswere discussed on allowing all passengers to use local trainservices in such a way that there is no crowding as theCOVID-19 threat still persists.

The meeting was attended by chief secretary SanjayKumar, the CM's principal adviser Ajoy Mehta, BMC CommissionerIqbal Singh Chahal, Mumbai Police Commissioner Param BirSingh, railway officials etc,the statement said.

Currently, only some categories of commuters, likewomen and those providing essential services, can travel bylocal trains in the Mumbai region after obtaining a specialpass, in view of the coronavirus pandemic.

Those with confirmed tickets for long distance trainscan now travel to the boarding station by suburban trains inthe Mumbai region.

The suburban train services, considered Mumbai'slifeline, were suspended in March-end last year due to thecoronavirus outbreak and gradually resumed later.