Railways will gradually restart passenger trains starting May 12

Indian Railways IRCTC Online Reservations: Railroads will begin more available bus-based services after reserving 20,000 coaches for Covid-19 call centers.

Indian Railways IRCTC Online Reservations: After 50 days of suspension of its passenger services due to the blockade of Covid-19, Indian Railways plans to gradually restart passenger train operations from May 12, initially with 15 pairs of trains (30 return trips).

These trains will run as special trains from the New Delhi station connecting Dibrugarh, Agartala, Howrah, Patna, Bilaspur, Ranchi, Bhubaneswar, Secunderabad, Bengaluru, Chennai, Thiruvananthapuram, Madgaon, Central Mumbai, Ahmedabad and Jammu Tawi.

The decision was made Saturday at the highest level of government, and the states spoke on Sunday in a meeting with the cabinet secretary, the sources said. The final touches for the crucial move were prepared on Sunday night.

Only passengers with confirmed valid tickets will be able to enter the railway stations. Passengers will be required to wear a face cover and undergo a check-out upon departure. Only asymptomatic passengers may board.

“The railways will begin more special services on new routes, depending on the coaches available after reserving 20,000 coaches for the COVID-19 service centers and an adequate number of coaches will be reserved to allow the operation of up to 300 trains every day as “Shramik Special” for stranded migrants, “said a statement from the Ministry of Railways.

The reservation to book on these trains will start at 4 pm on May 11 and will be available only on the IRCTC website (https://www.irctc.co.in/). Ticket reservation counters at railway stations will remain closed and no counter tickets (including platform tickets) will be issued, Railways said.

Additional details, including the train schedule, will be issued separately in due course.

So far, Indian Railways has operated 366 “Shramik Special” trains since May 1 and transported four lakhs of stranded migrants to their homes in various parts of the country amid the coronavirus-induced blockade, CTI officials said. While 287 trains have already reached their destinations, 79 trains are in transit.

Of these 287 trains, 127 ended at Uttar Pradesh, 87 at Bihar, 24 at Madhya Pradesh, 20 at Odisha, 16 at Jharkhand, four at Rajasthan, three at Maharashtra, two at Telangana and West Bengal, and one at Andhra Pradesh and Himachal Pradesh, PTI reported.

These trains have transported migrants to cities such as Tiruchchirappalli, Titlagarh, Barauni, Khandwa, Jagannathpur, Khurda Road, Chhapra, Balia, Gaya, Purnia, Varanasi, among others.

📣 The Indian Express is now on Telegram. Click here to join our channel (@indianexpress) and stay updated with the latest headlines

For the latest news from India, download the Indian Express app.

© The Indian Express (P) Ltd