New Delhi: The Indian Railways on Sunday announced that it’ll be starting special passenger trains from Tuesday after an almost 50-day suspension amid the coronavirus pandemic. IRCTC has clarified that they aren’t ceasing the shramik trains and these will be an addition to those already existing ferries.
For now, there are limited number of trains available travelling to and fro select cities of India. 15 trains will be functioning carrying passengers from New Delhi Station connecting Dibrugarh, Agartala, Howrah, Patna, Bilaspur, Ranchi, Bhubaneswar, Secunderabad, Bengaluru, Chennai, Thiruvananthapuram, Madgaon, Mumbai Central, Ahmedabad and Jammu Tawi.
Currently, only the AC coaches are running and the same were told be available online on the official IRCTC website for booking from Monday, 4pm. As per the trains, premium fees are applicable for the tickets. As the data regarding the tickets and available trains took time to be fed in the systems due to the low number of staff available, there was a delay of 2 hours in the commencement of online ticket bookings. Within 10 minutes, the tickets were completely booked for Howrah-New Delhi railway station 3AC.
With the lockdown still prevalent, officials have declared strict orders to be complied by everyone to ensure social distancing and avoid any chances of infections. A set of rules and guidelines are given to be followed.
- Live ticket booking at counters shall be closed.
- Not all seats will be available to ensure physical distancing
- Passengers need to go through mandatory thermal screening when they enter the station
- Only asymptomatic passengers shall be allowed to board the train
- The movement of the passengers as well as the driver of the vehicle transporting the passengers to and fro the railway station shall be allowed on the basis of the confirmed e-ticket
- Passnegrs need to wear protective gear and will be given sanitisers at entry, exit points, at thje station and in coaches after seating.
- Limited train stoppages present
- There will be no provision of tatkal bookings, RAC or waitlist tickets.
- Passengers can cancel their tickets upto 24 hours before the departure. Although, 50% of the fare will be deducted as cancellation charges.
- Tickets are exclusive of catering charges. Dry packed food and water will be available on payment basis in the train.
- Passengers are advised to get their own food and water.
- Blankets will not be provided for anyone.
- Passengers should arrive at the station 90 mins prior to the departure of the trains. On arrival at their destination, the travelling passengers will have to adhere to such health protocols as are prescribed by the destination state/UT.
- Zonal Railways have been instructed to ensure that there are separate entry and exit gates at railway stations to the extent feasible so that there is no face to face movement of passengers. Zonal railways will be guided by standard social distancing guidelines on stations and trains and observe the safety, security and hygiene protocols.
- All tickets are to be bought online through the IRCTC website only and no agent booking is allowed.
As the government starts the railway services, people stranded in places before their lockdown shall be able to reach their homes safely.
