Indian Railways is planning to gradually restart passenger train operations from May 12, initially with 15 pairs of trains, the government said on Sunday.
These trains will be run as special trains from New Delhi station connecting Dibrugarh, Agartala, Howrah, Patna, Bilaspur, Ranchi, Bhubaneswar, Secunderabad, Bengaluru, Chennai, Thiruvananthapuram, Madgaon, Mumbai Central, Ahmedabad and Jammu Tawi.
Booking for reservation in these trains will start at 4 pm on May 11 and will be available only on the IRCTC website.
“Thereafter, Indian Railways shall start more special services on new routes, based on the available coaches after reserving 20,000 coaches for COVID-19 care centres and adequate number of coaches being reserved to enable operation of up to 300 trains everyday as 'Shramik Special' for stranded migrants,” said an official statement.
According to the statement, ticket booking counters at the railway stations will remain closed and no counter tickets, including platform tickets, will be issued. Only passengers with valid confirmed tickets will be allowed to enter the railway stations.
“It will be mandatory for the passengers to wear face cover and undergo screening at departure and only asymptomatic passengers will be allowed to board the train,” the statement further said.
Railways had suspended all passenger train services on May 25 after Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced a nationwide lockdown to contain the COVID-19 pandemic.