Considering the difficulties students are facing amid the coronavirus outbreak, Indian Railways allowed JEE and NEET applicants on Monday to ride suburban rail on exam days. Tutors of these students will also be able to ride the Mumbai Suburban Railways.
The JEE Main 2020 exam will take place between September 1-6. NEET 2020 is scheduled for September 13. The exams were delayed due to the coronavirus pandemic in the country.
Students must carry JEE or NEET admission cards to enter railway stations. “Station authorities and security officials have been properly instructed to allow students to enter on exam days,” Union Rail Minister Piyush Goyal said. To maintain strict social distancing rules, additional lockers will be opened, Goyal added.
The general public is kindly requested not to rush the station. Travelers should follow medical and social protocols and other measures related to the coronavirus, said the Minister of Railways.
At present, only essential service providers are eligible to travel via Mumbai suburban railways. Both Central Railways and Western Railways operate with 350 suburban locations on each line every day.
Local trains, the livelihood of the country’s financial capital, were suspended on March 23 as a national blockade to contain the spread of the coronavirus. Typically, the Central Railway and Western Railway run more than 3,000 services in Mumbai daily, carrying around 70 lakhs of passengers.
To maintain social distancing, the central railway recently introduced a QR code reader at Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Terminus (CSMT) and 14 suburban train stations. The central railway planned to install automatic gates based on QR codes at CSMT’s long-distance terminal within 2-3 months, on a “pilot basis,” said Shalabh Goel, divisional railway manager of the Central Railway’s Mumbai division.
“By scanning the QR code printed on tickets or the code received on mobiles, passengers can enter through the station gates,” he added.
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