India will “gradually” restart rail operations from tomorrow as the country eases its coronavirus lockdown, despite the number of cases going past 60,000 with more than 2,000 deaths.
Some 30 train journeys -15 pairs of return trips - will run from the capital New Delhi to other cities including Mumbai, Bengaluru and Chennai, Indian Railways said late yesterday.
“Indian Railways plans to gradually restart passenger train operations from 12th May, 2020. Thereafter, Indian Railways shall start more special services on new routes,” the Railways Ministry added in a statement.
“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 ministry’s spokesman Rajesh Dutt Bajpai said in a statement: “The national transporter is planning to gradually restart special AC passenger train operations from Tuesday with 15 trains, including their return journey, with limited stops.”
He said online bookings for the trains will start at 4pm today.
Bajpai said in the initial phase, the 15 pairs of trains will run as special AC trains from New Delhi Station to Dibrugarh, Agartala, Howrah, Patna, Bilaspur, Ranchi, Bhubaneswar, Secunderabad, Bengaluru, Chennai, Thiruvananthapuram, Madgaon, Mumbai Central, Ahmedabad and Jammu Tawi.
He said, all the coaches will be AC with limited stops and the fare will be equivalent to Rajdhani Express train.
Bajpai said that in AC three-tier coaches, 52 passengers will be allowed while in AC two-tier coaches, 48 passengers will be allowed keeping in mind the protocol of social distancing amid the Covid-19 pandemic.
“The 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,” he said.
The spokesman said booking counters at railway stations would remain closed and no counter tickets, including platform tickets would be issued.
“Only passengers with valid confirmed tickets will be allowed to enter the railway stations. Further details including train schedule will be issued separately in due course,” he said.
The vast train network, which normally carries more than 20mn passengers daily, was halted in late March as India imposed a strict lockdown to stem the spread of the virus.
A limited number of services have been operating in recent days to help stranded poor, rural migrant workers who lost their jobs in the lockdown to return to their villages.
India has started to ease its lockdown, which is due to lift on May 17, but interstate public transport and domestic and international flights had so far remain grounded.
l After a tragic train accident in Aurangabad where 16 labourers were crushed to death as they were sleeping on railway tracks, the Congress has alleged that the railways has proved to be inept in handling the migrant crisis and demanded multi-nodal agency to tackle it.
Amid a political slugfest between the Bharatiya Janata Party and the opposition on the issue of migrant workers, the Congress has seized the opportunity to attack the government.
“I request the government to constitute a multi-nodal agency under a senior cabinet minister to oversee relief and rescue of migrants,” Congress leader Ahmed Patel said.
“If need be even the support of the armed forces must be sought to solve this humanitarian crisis. Clearly the Railways Ministry is unable to handle the problem,” he added.