India, Jan. 22 -- The daily average footfall inside local trains on the Central Railway (CR) network increased 2% in 2024 compared to the previous year, although the number is still short of the pre-COVID figure, data released by CR on Tuesday showed.

In December 2024, 3.93 million commuters travelled daily in local trains on the Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Terminus (CSMT) to Karjat/ Kasara/ Panvel routes, while the average daily footfall from April to December that year was 3.84 million, the data showed.

CR ferried a total of 1202 million passengers on local trains and long-distance trains between April and December 2024, 2.4% more than the same period in the previous year. This included 144 million passengers who travelled in outstati...