Since March 25 all the trains were forced to shut their services as the nation went into complete lockdown due to the widespread of the deadly Noval Coronavirus which is spreading rapidly in the country. Although recently train services were resumed to take back all the stranded labourers, students safely to their homes who were stuck in different states due to the lockdown.
On Monday the Railways announced that it will gradually restart its passenger train operations from May 12. The tickets will be available from 4 PM today on the IRCTC website.
The Indian Railways on Monday said passengers will have to bring their own food and blankets and bedsheets from home, while pre-packed snacks, biscuits will be available with the onboard catering staff. The Railways also advised passengers of these trains to download the Aarogya Setu app even though it is not a precondition to travel.
The Ministry of Home Affairs has also issued a standard operating procedure (SOP) for the movement of people by trains and made it clear that only asymptomatic and confirmed ticket holders will be allowed to travel.
According to the guidelines, all passengers will have to wear face masks and observe social distancing norms while entering a station and during travel. “Only those passengers with confirmed e-tickets shall be allowed to enter the station. The movement of the passenger(s), as well as the driver of the vehicle transporting the passenger(s) to and fro the railway station, shall be allowed on the basis of the confirmed e-ticket,” the order said.
All passengers shall be provided hand sanitizer at stations and in coaches. Only asymptomatic passengers would be allowed to travel, after screening at departure, reads the order.
