The Indian Railways on Saturday said it will run 40 pairs of new special trains from September 12, an official statement stated.

"The Railways will run 40 pairs of new special trains from September 12. The reservation for these will begin from September 10," said Railway Board Chairman Vinod Kumar Yadav.

These trains are in addition to 230 trains already in operation, he added. "We will run trains whenever there is a request from state governments for exams and other such purposes," said Yadav. "We will monitor special trains; wherever there is a demand for a train or waiting list is long, we will run a clone train."

The Indian Railways had suspended passenger, mail and express train services from March 25 in the wake of the nationwide lockdown due to the COVID-19 pandemic.