On Friday, February 26th, The Maharashtra State Board of Secondary and Higher Secondary Education (MSBSHSE) announced the timetable for the Higher Secondary Certificate (HSC) and the Secondary School Certificate (SSC) board examinations.

With the scenario of online exams being ruled out, exams are to be held offline, for which students will have to commute to their respective examination centres assigned by the board. The centres assigned are colleges in the vicinity of the college the student belongs to.

Many class 12 students living in Mumbai live stations apart from the station in which their examination centre will be  located. For example, a student living in Borivali or even Virar may have their centre in Churchgate, if they belong to a college in South Bombay. Thousands of students will be commuting via the local trains to give their boards since it is the most economical mode of transportation.

However, the city of Mumbai is not becoming Covid free anytime soon, and the locals and the platforms still remain crowded. The resumption of the local trains for the general public is even considered as the prime culprit for the recent upsurge in the number of Covid-19 cases in the city.

Hence, this is a petition requesting special train slots and services, on the Western, Central lines and Harbour lines, exclusively for HSC students, as per the given examination slots, during the span of the examination which is from the 23rd of April to the 21st of May 2021.

This could help keep the students healthy and safe during their exams.

Starting student special locals will greatly benefit students, and if these trains are continued even post the exams, post covid, it would be even better, as it would make their journey comfortable and easy.