- Mumbai Metro rail, which had been shut since March 22 due to the coronavirus pandemic, will resume operations in a graded manner from October 19.
- Mumbai Metro, in a tweet, thanked govt for the resumption of the services and announced that passenger services will restart from 19 October post-inspection and trial runs.
Mumbai Metro rail, which had been shut since March 22 due to the coronavirus pandemic, will resume operations in a graded manner from October 19 after the state government, which rolled out a fresh set of relaxations under the ‘Mission Begin Again’ guidelines Wednesday, announced the services will start from Thursday.
The order, signed by state Chief Secretary Sanjay Kumar, said a detailed standard operating procedure (SOP) would be soon issued by the State Urban Development department. It, however, did not specify if the Metro services would be restricted only to essential service providers or open to the general public.
Minutes after the order was issued, the Mumbai Metro, which operates the city’s lone functional Metro service between Versova-Andheri-Ghatkopar, announced that it will resume operations from Monday from 8.30 am after inspection and trial runs.
Mumbai Metro, in a tweet, thanked the state government for resumption of the services and announced that passenger services will restart from 19 October, Monday from 8:30 am post-inspection and trial runs.
@MumMetro is thankful to Government of Maharashtra for allowing metro operations. We have already initiated safety inspections and trial runs, and are set to restart passenger operations from Monday, 19th October 2020, 8:30 am. #MissionBeginAgain #HaveANiceDay
— Mumbai Metro (@MumMetro) October 14, 2020
Metro rail services in cities, like Delhi, have been functional since September 12. In Mumbai, there has been an increasing call for the reopening of public transport systems, including the railways and the Metro. While the suburban trains are operating well below its optimal level, only those deemed as essential service providers are allowed to board these trains.
Apart from this, the city’s lifeline, the Mumbai local trains are also gradually operating for certain services. At present, people employed in essential services, Mumbai’s dabbawalas, and staff of foreign consulates and high commissions have been allowed to travel in local trains.
Moreover, Indian Railways’ Western Railway zone has decided to run 194 additional trains along with AC locals that are going to resume its operations from today i:e October 15.
The decision was taken to maintain social distancing and avoid overcrowding amid the Covid-19 pandemic.
