MUMBAI: The Central Railway has increased the price of platform tickets at some key stations in the Mumbai Metropolitan Region (MMR) to avoid over-crowding during the upcoming summer season in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, an official said on Tuesday.
A platform ticket now costs Rs 50 instead of the previous rate of Rs 10 at the Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Terminus, Dadar and Lokmanya Tilak Terminus in Mumbai, and neighbouring Thane, Kalyan, Panvel and Bhiwandi Road stations, CR's chief public relations officer Shivaji Sutar said.
The new rate came into force on February 24 and will remain effective till June 15 this year, the official said.
"The decision was taken to prevent over-crowding at these stations during the summer travel rush," he said.
Since the second week of February, there has been a surge in daily COVID-19 cases in Mumbai.
The city has so far reported over 3.25 lakh COVID-19 cases and more than 11,400 deaths due to the disease.