Toll waiver also granted for those travelling by road. CR to operate 162 services, while WR will operate 20 services
@the_news_21
Mumbai: A week before the start of the most eagerly awaited Ganesh festival, the Maharashtra government seemed to have got its act together to facilitate easier travel of the devout and natives to the Konkan region. The train services for Konkan region were finally given a green signal with the first train scheduled to leave Mumbai from August 15 to cater to the huge rush of Mumbaikars travelling to their native places for the Ganesh festival.
While the Central Railways (CR) announced 162 trips, the Western Railway (WR) announced 20 trips to various parts of Konkan. The bookings for most of these trains start from August 14.
In the wake of Covid-19 pandemic, the trains would be strictly for reserved passengers with strict social distancing and standard operating procedure norms would be followed. While the CR trains would depart from Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus and Lokmanya Tilak Terminus, the WR trains would depart from Bandra Terminus and Mumbai Central Terminus.
Also Read: Special Ganeshotsav trains for Konkan fails to take-off
There is also an AC train being operated from Bandra Terminus to Sawantwadi. This is the first intra-state trains being operated in Maharashtra, which had only seen trains being operated to other states so far.
Incidentally, even this service was formally announced after much criticism by the opposition Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). Though the Maharashtra government had granted permissions for the train services to Konkan on August 7 itself, the order was held back subsequently on oral instructions allegedly following inadequate quarantine preparedness by state.
Though the reserved train tickets are to be considered as e-passes for travel in Konkan region, the passengers would have to quarantine themselves on reaching their destination.
The Maharashtra government also announced exemption from road toll tax for visitors to Konkan from various highways for two days and before and after the 10-days Ganesh Chaturthi celebration ends, as per a tweet of state public works department minister Eknath Shinde. To avail this waiver, visitors will have to register at their local police station with details like their vehicle number, name of vehicle owner, details of passengers to collect toll waiver stickers, Shinde tweeted. However, those travelling by road would have to mandatory test and get electronic-passes before embarking on their journey.
