Indian Railways has announced the gradual restart of passenger train services from tomorrow. Initially, 15 pairs of trains will ply with passengers onboard.
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 of tickets on these trains has opened at the IRCTC website. Reportedly, ticket booking counters at the Railway Stations will remain closed and counter tickets will not be issued.
All these special trains will have only first, second, and third air-conditioned classes. The fare structure for these trains will be the same as regular Rajdhani trains, excluding catering charges. No catering charges will be included in the fare. Provision for pre-paid meal booking and e-catering will be disabled. However, IRCTC will make provision for limited eatables and packaged drinking water on a payment basis. Railways Ministry has encouraged passengers to carry their own food and drinking water. Current booking, Tatkal, and Premium Tatkal booking will not be permitted. Only passengers with valid confirmed tickets will be allowed to enter the Railway Stations.
Passengers will have to wear face cover and undergo screening at departure and only asymptomatic passengers will be allowed to board the train. They will have to reach the station at least 90 minutes in advance to facilitate thermal screening. Online cancellation will be permitted up to 24 hours before the scheduled departure of the train. No cancellation will be permitted less than 24 hrs before departure of train. The cancellation charge shall be 50 percent of the fare.
The Ministry has advised all passengers to download and use the Aarogya Setu App. No Linen, blankets, and curtains will be provided inside the train, and passengers should carry their own linen.
