Mumbai local train: JEE, NEET aspirants, guardians allowed to commute on exam days

Considering the hardships faced by the students amid coronavirus outbreak, Indian Railways on Monday allowed the JEE and NEET aspirants to travel by Mumbai suburban railways on the examination days. The guardians of these students will also be permitted to travel by Mumbai local trains.

The JEE Main 2020 examination will be conducted between September 1 to 6. The NEET 2020 is slated to be held on September 13. The examinations were delayed due to coronavirus pandemic in the country.

Students must carry admit cards of JEE or NEET to enter the railways stations. "The station authorities and security officials have been instructed suitable to allow the students on the exam days," Union railway minister Piyush Goyal said. To maintain strict social distancing norms, additional ticket counters will be opened, Goyal added.

General public are requested not to rush the station. Travellers must follow medical and social protocols and other coronavirus related measures, the railway minister said.

At present, only essential service providers are eligible to commute via Mumbai suburban railways. Both, the central railways and western railways run 350 suburban locals in each line every day.

Local trains, the lifeline of the country's financial capital, were suspended on March 23 as a part of the national lockdown to contain coronavirus spread. Usually, the central railway and western railway run more than 3,000 services in Mumbai daily, carrying around 70 lakh passengers.

To maintain social distancing, the central railway recently introduced a QR code reader at the Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Terminus (CSMT) and 14 suburban railway stations. The central railway planned to install QR code based automatic gates at CSMT's long distance terminus within 2-3 months, on "pilot basis", Shalabh Goel, divisional railway manager of central railway's Mumbai division said.

"By scanning the QR code printed on tickets or code received on mobiles, the passengers can enter through the flap gates at the station," he added.