BEST employees began their indefinite strike from Monday midnight.
Mumbai Central Railway will run extra trains on Wednesday to ensure commuters don't face inconvenience amid the ongoing indefinite strike called by Brihanmumbai Electricity Supply Transport (BEST) workers' union.
BEST employees began their indefinite strike from Monday midnight after their demand for merging the BEST budget with 'A' budget of BMC was not met. They are also seeking resolution of employee service residences and recruitment. When the talks with the authorities failed, the employees resorted to the strike, paralysing bus services and causing inconvenience to nearly 25-lakh daily commuters.
Soon after the strike was called, the railways came to the rescue of commuters and pressed in more trains for the convenience of the Mumbaikars.
Following are the detailed timings of additional services provided by the Central Railway:
Mainline:
Thane (TNA) departure at 13:44 hours and Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Terminus railway station (CSMT) arrival at 14.40 hours.
CSMT departure at 14.49 hours and Kalyan (KYN) arrival at 16.15 hours.
Harbour line:
Vashi (VSH) departure at 13.44 hours and CSMT arrival at 14.32 hours.
CSMT departure at 14.45 hours and Panvel (PNVL) arrival at 16.05 hours.
Some buses have been pressed into services by Maharashtra government, following which, the bus drivers were instructed to wear helmet while driving to ensure their safety.
Office goers faced issues after the BEST buses remained off roads on Tuesday.
Maharashtra State Road Transport Corporation (MSRTC) on Tuesday claimed that 40 buses have been pressed into service in the metropolis to avoid inconvenience.
The BEST has a fleet of over 3,200 red-colour buses which ply across the metropolis and also operate services in the neighbouring Thane district and Navi Mumbai.
It is the second biggest mode of transport in Mumbai after local trains, which ferry over 80 lakh passengers every day.