After initial hiccups which saw the Western Railway (WR) and Central Railway (CR) refused to toe the line drawn by the Maharashtra government, the Indian Railways on Tuesday permitted the WR and CR to allow all ladies to travel by suburban trains for a specified number of hours during a day in Mumbai and Mumbai Metropolitan Region (MMR) from October 21.
In a formal announcement made late in the afternoon, Railway Minister Piyush Goyal tweeted: “I am happy to announce that Railways will allow women to travel on suburban trains from 21 Oct between 11 am to 3 pm & after 7 pm”.
Downplaying the manner in which the WR and CR had put spokes in the wheels of the Maharashtra government which wanted women to travel by suburban trains for a specified number of hours during a day in the MMR from October 17, Goyal said in the second part of his tweet : “We were always ready and with the receipt of the letter from Maharashtra government today, we have allowed this travel”.
In a joint statement issued in the evening, the Central and Western Railway said: “Railways are currently operating 1406 special suburban services on Mumbai suburban network of Central and Western Railway. Central Railway has added 225 suburban services making it total 706 from October 19, 2020”.
“Western Railway have added 194 services on October 15, 2020 and will add 4 services (ladies special) on October 21, 2020 .The WR will be running 704 suburban services on its network including six ladies special. Thus, Railways will be operating 1410 special suburban services with effect from October 21, 2020,” the joint statement said.