35L average daily commuters on CR & WR since February 1
It has been over a week that suburban train services have been opened for all, but at selected timings. Long queues were seen at ticket counters. Kurla, Titwala, Ghatkopar, Mulund and Kasara on the Central Railway (see box) and Andheri, Borivali, Dadar, Nalasopara, Malad and Kandivali on the Western Railway are some of the stations where people turned up in large numbers to buy tickets and/or renew their season passes. Since Februar y 1, the total daily average of commuters on both CR and WR has touched 35 lakh. Railway officials have been monitoring these railway stations for passengers travelling during nonpermitted hours of the day. On February 9, CR sold 3.47 lakh tickets as against the 2.06 lakh tickets sold on Januar y 29. “Interestingly, ticket sales at smaller stations have gone up substantially. Stations like Thane and Kalyan have seen a drop in the number of tickets sold in this period,” said a CR official. On WR, the number of people buying monthly season tickets has seen a rise as compared to the quarterly passes sold.