In mid-June, Savitri Gomte heard from her neighbour that Mumbai’s suburban local trains were about to re-open. As a domestic worker who had been out of work since the start of the Covid-19 lockdown in March, she felt a surge of relief and joy at the news.
Gomte’s income depends entirely on being able to commute from her house in Dombivali – a suburb 50 km north of Mumbai – to the homes of middle-class families in south Mumbai. A Central Railway local train, with a Rs 300 monthly pass, is her only affordable transport option.
“I thought if they re-start the trains, I would finally be able to earn for my family again,” said Gomte, 35, who has two daughters in secondary school.
But Gomte’s joy lasted just for a day: it turned out that the news she had heard was only partially true.
Mumbai’s local trains did resume services on June 15, but only for limited…