Commuter body wants Mumbai local trains for those beyond Kalyan

Trains are being run for essential category. File/Sayyed Sameer Abedi

Commuters and office-goers from far-off suburbs are struggling with their work due to non-availability of local trains, the Federation of Suburban Railway Passengers' Association has said. In a letter to Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray, the commuter body has said that the ‘Break the Chain' formula is frustrating for those living beyond Kalyan.

"Residents who need to go to Mumbai for work every day are struggling. The break the chain circulars are breaking the back of everyone here economically. The state government should take some steps about restoration of local train access to general commuters as soon as possible," said Nandkumar Deshmukh, president of the association.

The commuter body says that there may be enough modes of transport for citizens living up to Kalyan. However, it becomes a Herculean task to manage travelling without the local trains. "We discussed with the government last time and have understood that there are limitations in running state transport buses too. In such a scenario, the government should be considerate here and open up access to local trains for the benefit of the public," he said.

"Given the seriousness of the issue, the government must come up with some mechanism to allow genuine office-goers on suburban trains by issuing some passes or permits," Manohar Shelar, founding president of the association said.

The state had restricted public access to local trains, allowing only essential service staff to use them since mid-April. Railway officials said they will follow state directives, while state officials said it is too early to respond to the demand as the present set of curbs will continue till the end of May.