Teachers as well as non-teaching school staff have been allowed to board suburban trains being run in Mumbai and its metropolitan region amid the coronavirus outbreak, railway officials said on Friday.

In a joint release, Western and Central Railways, which operate the suburban system in MMR, said permission has been granted with immediate effect.

Valid identity cards are authority for entry at the stations, the release said, adding that adherence to social distancing and others norms in place for the COVID-19 outbreak were a must.

The state government had last week asked the railways to allow this section to board suburban services, which resumed on June 15 with the condition that only those designated as essential services staff can travel.

Currently, 3,141 suburban services are being run daily.