The Maharashtra government on Friday requested the General Managers of Central and Western Railways to allow women passengers to travel on suburban trains without QR code requirement.

Since regular services of the Mumbai local train services were shut down on March 23 due to the Covid pandemic, both the railway divisions have been running limited services for emergency staff. In order to a check on such staff and prevent the misuse of the services, a QR code-based e-pass along with valid ticket was made mandatory on July 30 for travel in the local trains.

The State Government has asked that all women passengers be allowed to train on local trains from 11 am to 3 pm and from 7 pm till the last train service. The train services for essential service staff will continue to be available throughout the day.

The Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray in his customary address on Sunday, October 11, had said he had requested the rail administration to increase train services.

Local trains are the lifeline of the Mumbai metropolitan region and are used to carry about 75 lakh passengers per day with about 3,000 services before the outbreak of the pandemic.

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