It is often termed that Mumbai's local train is the city's lifeline. It may look like an exaggerated expression for a public transport system but to those 1.8 crore Mumbaikars, it is apt to consider such a statement.
As lockdown crippled the entire nation due to coronavirus pandemic, Mumbai local was also affected by it. With things coming back to some normal pace, the restart of Mumbai local train from February 1 has brought a sense of relief to many.
Now one picture is circulating on social media which captures the whole "lifeline" part of the Mumbai local. In that image, a young lad can be seen kneeling down, in respect, at the gates of a Mumbai local.
Mahindra Group chairman Anand Mahindra shared that expressive photograph of young commuter worshipping the train before boarding it. Mahindra took to Twitter to share his feeling and wrote: “The soul of India…I pray we never lose it…”
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">The soul of India... I pray we never lose it... <a >https://t.co/Xw48usPnew</a></p>— anand mahindra (@anandmahindra) <a >February 3, 2021</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
The general public is allowed to travel in the suburban trains from the time of the start of services for the day till 7 a.m., from 12 noon to 4 p.m. and from 9 p.m. till the closure of services for the day, PTI reports. Only employees of the essential services and categories of commuters are permitted to travel in local trains from 7 a.m. to 12 noon and from 4 p.m. to 9 p.m.
Earlier in March last year, it was for the first time in 46 years that Mumbai’s local trains were stopped to avoid the spread of the coronavirus.