Indian Railways said Tuesday that it will operate 20 pairs (40 trains) of ‘clone’ trains starting September 21 on specific routes as demand for travel has increased.
“Taking into account the huge demand for travel on specific routes, the Ministry of Railways has decided to run 20 pairs of Clone Special trains (list attached at the link below) from September 21, 2020,” the ministry said in a statement. .
These clone trains will run on notified schedules and will be fully booked trains. Stops will be limited to operational shutdowns.
Here’s a complete list of the 20 clone train pairs:
While tickets for 19 pairs of these trains will be charged at Humsafar Express rates, they will be on par with Janshatabdi Express rates for the clone train between Lucknow and Delhi.
The advance booking period for these trains will be 10 days.
These will run in addition to the 310 special trains already in service and their stops will be limited to the operational stop or to the Division Headquarters en route (if applicable).
Suggestions from state governments can also be maintained while stops are restricted, the national carrier said.
Last week, Indian Railways, in an attempt to provide relief to waiting-list passengers, announced a special ‘clone train’ on routes that generally have high passenger traffic.
These “clone” or duplicate trains will run on high demand routes for waiting list passengers. The proposed step will not only ensure the availability of on-demand trains, but will also help the national carrier increase revenue at a time when passenger segment profits declined due to the covid-19 outbreak, the government previously said.
These trains will run before the departure of special trains that already operate. However, travel time and stoppages will be less.
Indian railways had suspended all passenger train services due to the imposition of a nationwide shutdown effective March 25. However, it resumed services in a phased manner, with Shramik Special trains to help stranded migrant workers reach their home states starting May 1.
From then on, it launched 230 special trains across the country. It will operate another 80 special trains starting September 12.
The additional trains were announced taking into account the covid-19 situation, and also to allow the reverse migration of workers to urban areas to work, with the country entering Unblocking 4.0.
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