Train ticket cancellations soar amid rising Covid cases & Maharashtra’s travel restrictions

MUMBAI: Cancellations by long-distance train passengers on Western and Central railways’ Mumbai division have soared almost 100% and 60%, respectively, in November in comparison to the previous month.

Officers have blamed the cancellations on fears of a second coronavirus wave in northern and western states.
CR’s chief public relations officer Shivaji Sutar said, “In November, 16,588 passengers, on an average, cancelled their tickets per day for trains headed out of the Mumbai division compared to 10,323 in October.” And on WR, an average of 15,947 passengers cancelled their tickets in a day as against 8,023 in October.
WR’s Mumbai division has its jurisdiction till Surat and Jalgaon and CR includes Roha, Lonavala and Igatpuri.
A WR official said, “Cancellations are higher on WR due to agitations in Punjab and Rajasthan that are affecting train operations, apart from Covid fears.”
The demand is weak even from Gujarat. Mumbai-Ahmedabad Tejas Express, for instance, stopped running from November 24, barely a month after the service resumed due to a poor occupancy of around 35%.
A CR official said, “Economic activity too has not picked up because of the extended lockdown, which has led to cancellations.”
Another reason for the cancellations is that Maharashtra has made it mandatory to screen all passengers coming in from Delhi, Gujarat, Rajasthan and Goa for Covid.
A railway official said, “Those who have planned short trips do not want to go through the hassle of screening and testing, as a positive report will land them in quarantine or in a hospital.”
Dadar resident Bharai Jain said, “I had plans to visit Ahmedabad for a wedding but the function was cancelled as many like me are not keen on attending it. Hence, I cancelled my ticket.”
Kurla resident Pankaj Damankar said, “I wanted to go to Delhi for some family work but cancelled due to the Covid situation and worsening of the smog there.”
Both WR and CR officials said they would review the situation and cancel a few trains if the demand continues to be low.