September 20, 2020 5:33:33 pm
Their stops will be limited to operational stops or to the Division Headquarters en route (if applicable), reducing travel time, the official said. (Representative image)
With railways deploying 40 clone trains as of Monday, passengers on the waiting list on high-traffic routes can expect to arrive at their destinations two to three hours earlier than the corresponding main train, a senior official said Sunday.
These clone trains, mainly 3-AC trains with fewer stops, higher speeds and a departure time before the main train, are a boon for passengers who have to travel in an emergency or have made last minute plans, said the official.
Their stops will be limited to operational stops or to the Division Headquarters en route (if applicable), which will reduce travel time, the official said.
“These trains will arrive at their destinations two or three hours in advance. This is how they are planned, ”a senior official told PTI.
“We are assuming that during these times, people will travel only in emergencies and we want to make sure that on high traffic routes we can accommodate all passengers who want to travel.”
The Railways have introduced these 20 pairs of trains on high demand routes with the majority of trains between Bihar, West Bengal, Uttar Pradesh and Delhi, Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka.
While tickets for 19 pairs of these trains, the 18 carriages, will be charged at Humsafar Express rates, they will be on par with Janshatabdi Express rates for the 22-carriage clone train between Lucknow and Delhi.
The advance reservation period for these trains will be 10 days and the reservation opened at 8 am on September 19, Ferrocarriles said.
“It is better to run trains on routes where there is more demand than to keep assets idle. We tried to implement this before, but there was not enough path available. Now, with this pandemic, there is no shortage of routes and this is the right time to test the market for this type of train, ”said the official.
“The clone trains will be mainly 3AC trains and will be ahead of the special trains that already operate. The zones have been given flexibility to decide how much advantage to give to clone trains depending on route availability and commercial viability, it can be an hour or four hours or even more, ”he added.
While as of now, a dynamic rate is not being charged for these trains, sources said that in the near future, it may be considered.
This initiative was first announced by then-Minister of Railways Suresh Prabhu in 2016, but did not take off mainly due to congestion on the rail network.
While the 19 pairs of Humsafar Express trains will be 18 carriages, the Lucknow-Delhi train will have 22 carriages.
According to the list of trains operated by the railways, 10 trains (5 pairs) will operate between Bihar and Delhi under the East Central Railways.
These trains will originate and end in Saharsa, Rajendra Nagar, Rajgir, Darbhanga and Muzaffarpur of Bihar.
The two trains operating on the Northeast Frontier Railway are also from Bihar: Katihar to Delhi and vice versa.
The Northern Railway will also operate 10 trains (5 pairs) that will operate between Delhi and Bihar and vice versa, West Bengal to Delhi, Punjab to West Bengal, Uttar Pradesh to Delhi, among others.
The South Central Railway will operate two trains between Danapur (Bihar) and Secunderabad and vice versa.
The South Western Railway will operate 6 trains (3 pairs) between Goa and Delhi, Karnataka-Bihar and Karnataka-Delhi.
The Western Railway will run with 10 trains (5 pairs) between Bihar (Darbhanga) -Gujarat (Ahmedabad), Delhi-Gujarat, Bihar (Chhapra) to Gujarat (Surat), Mumbai-Punjab, Gujarat (Ahmedabad) -Bihar (Patna)
The Railways had suspended all passenger train services due to the imposition of a nationwide shutdown effective March 25. However, it resumed services in a staggered fashion, with Shramik Special trains to help stranded migrant workers reach their home states starting May 1. Then, it launched 230 special trains across the country, followed by another 80 special trains starting on 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. PTI ASG
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