Mumbai:
Mumbai's local trains, the lifeline of India's financial capital, shut operations today over coronavirus after a jump in cases in the city as well as Maharashtra. Local and outstation trains have been shut down till March 31.
Over 80 lakh people travel in local trains every day. The Central and the Western Railway operate over 3,000 services on suburban routes daily.
"All suburban services have been stopped from Sunday midnight till March 31," a railway spokesperson said.
Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray had said last week that suspending Mumbai locals would be the last resort if citizens did not follow social distancing and self-isolation rules to prevent the transmission of COVID-19, which spreads through contact with infected persons or through respiratory droplets when a patient coughs or sneezes.
In 1974, the suburban and long distance train services in Mumbai were stopped for around 20 days due to a trade union strike.
On Sunday, the Railways suspended all passenger train services till March 31.
Suburban trains in Mumbai ran on Sunday at lesser frequency and only people working with emergency and essential services were allowed to travel.
Mumbai has 38 coronavirus cases, with 14 new cases emerging since yesterday, according to the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC).
The Mumbai suburban network spreads from Churchgate to Dahanu on the Western Railway route and from Chhatrapati
Shivaji Maharaj Terminus to Kasara and Khopoli on the Central Railway's main line.
The Central Railway also runs services from CSMT to Mahim and Panvel on the Harbour line, from Thane to Vashi and Panvel on the Trans-Harbour line and on the Belapur-Seawood-Kharkopar line.
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