Passenger train operations resume, here's everything you need to know : Grasshopper

Team Grasshopper 11-05-2020 12:25 PM News

On Sunday, Railways have announced that they will slowly restart the operations of passenger trains on 12th May. The railway services had been suspended for almost two months due to the lockdown that was enforced to contain the spread of coronavirus. The decision to resume passenger train operations was taken on Saturday in a meeting of Cabinet Secretary and the government, both central and states. The sources also told the media that the final draft was prepared on Sunday evening.

Railways have provided various services throughout the lockdown. They have operated as freight trains and Shramik trains to help the ones in need during the coronavirus crisis.

Plans on resuming services and operations

The passenger train services will resume slowly, starting 12th May. The operations will begin with 15 pair of special trains. These trains will connect Dibrugarh, Agartala, Howrah, Patna, Bilaspur, Ranchi, Bhubaneswar, Secunderabad, Bengaluru, Chennai, Thiruvanthapuram, Madgaon, Mumbai, Ahmedabad and Jammu Tawi, starting from the New Delhi Station.

The tickets will be available only online

The booking will be available online only; the service of buying tickets at counter or through agents will not be available; no tatkal ticket or premium tatkal ticket services will be available. The tickets can be booked from today 11th May at 4 p.m. at the IRCTC website or app. The IRCTC app is available on both Google play store and Apple app store.

Precautions taken on the stations and within the trains

The passengers with valid and confirmed tickets will be the only ones allowed to enter the railway station. It is also compulsory for them to wear face masks and gloves at all times. Social distancing is a must. The passengers will have to go through screening at the entry point of their departure station and only the ones found asymptomatic of the Coronavirus disease will be allowed to board the train. No linens or blankets will be made available in the trains to minimize the risk of spread of virus. Pantry services will not be available.

These trains are different from the Shramik trains

After considering the number of coaches available, as Railway has have reserved 20,000 coaches for COVID-19 care centres and 300 trains for the Shramik special trains for stranded migrant labourers, more trains would start operating on new routes. The Shramik train services will keep operating like before; their services will not be hampered by the operation of these special trains. The detailed train schedule will be soon released.

There will be no concessions on ticket prices

The concession facility on ticket prices has even put on hold for now by the Railways. The ticket prices will be the same as Rajdhani trains and all these trains will be air conditioned. The tickets will available on premium prices.