Coronavirus, Railways: 200 passenger trains should run from June 1
New Delhi:
The number of passenger trains operating in the country will increase from the 15 existing pairs (30 routes) to more than 200 from June 1, while the railways are slowly increasing their operations in the midst of a coronavirus lockout that has been extended until June 30. Trains operational from Monday will include those with non-AC coaches, which have not been licensed so far.
More than 1.45 lakh people bought tickets to travel on the first day of the second phase of passenger train recovery, and about 26 lakh are expected to travel in June.
“These trains are on the regular train model. They are fully reserved trains having both AC and non-AC classes. General coaches (GS) have reserved seats for a seated seat. There will be no ‘bus not reserved,’ said a statement from the Railways.
“The normal fares per class will be charged. The second seat (2S) for general seats (GS) will be charged and seats will be provided to all passengers,” the statement added.
Passengers were advised to go to the station at least 90 minutes before departure. Only people with confirmed tickets / RAC will be allowed to enter the station.
Under the SOPs issued by the Ministry of the Interior, all passengers must undergo a thermal control and only those found asymptomatic will be allowed to board the train.
On board the train, all passengers must maintain a social distance and wear face masks throughout the journey. All passengers are also encouraged to use hand sanitizers.
The zonal railways have been responsible for ensuring that there are separate entry and exit doors at each station, as far as possible, so that there is no movement in front of face of passengers.
All passengers must download Aarogya Setu, the government contact search application.
The more than 200 trains that will run from June 1 do not include the special “shramik” operated by the Railways since May 1 to return stranded migrants to their country of origin. As of May 29, more than 52 lakh migrants had been transported on 3,840 trains, according to the Railways.
Prior to the lockout, the railways operated approximately 12,000 trains each day.
