Buses can ferry only 25 with social distancing

Buses can ferry only 25 with social distancing

TIMES NEWS NETWORK

11.05.2020

Starting services at a reduced scale with social distancing in the initial days to increasing frequency after a few weeks seem to be the norm that transport authorities are looking at to restart buses, metro rail trains, suburban trains and MRTS services in the city after shutdown.

MTC and metro rail are ready with social distancing norms but railways is yet to decide on the modalities to resume services as Southern Railway is waiting for a nod from the Union ministry.

Metro rail train will carry only 160 commuters while MTC has started to number the seats to allow social distancing. Suburban trains may not allow too many standing commuters. However, officials and staff worry whether they will be able to handle if there is overcrowding at bus stops and railway stations during delays.

The state government has started groundwork to resume bus services – within the city and between cities. Government-run transport corporations across Tamil Nadu have held small-scale meeting with their employees on Friday and Saturday to discuss preparedness.

Dharmendra Pratap Yadav, the state transport secretary, on Thursday sent a circular to all the corporations explaining the standard operating procedures (SOPs) to be followed for operating government buses after lockdown was lifted.

The circular recommended operation of limited number of bus services initially and change frequencies depending on the demand.

Conductors were instructed to ensure that the seat occupancy did not exceed 50% at any point of time, distance between two standing passengers was at least 6 feet. This indicated that only 25 people (sit-20 and stand-5) can travel in an MTC bus in Chennai.

A Arunagirinathan, a conductor, said it will be difficult to handle crowds at bus stops, particularly if they had waited for long. They will not listen to us and get inside, he said. Similar is the sentiment of railway officials.

As far as autos were concerned, in some districts outside Chennai, they were already in operation informally as it was the only transportation mode available with no buses and trains. But they are allowed to carry only one passenger at a time and cases are booked in case they violated this.

But in Chennai, even share autos, which transport 7-10 passengers at a time, have started operations with lockdown relaxations coming into effect one by one. Since they are not recognised as a separate category of vehicle, there is no clarity on how to formulate social distancing norms for them, said a state transport department official.

Economic activity step-up, easing of curbs on PM-CMs meet agenda

Economic activity step-up, easing of curbs on PM-CMs meet agenda

TIMES NEWS NETWORK

New Delhi:  11.05.2020

PM Narendra Modi will have a lengthy, open-ended discussion, which may run into several hours on Monday, with chief ministers on the next steps of a graded exit from the national lockdown.

The talks will take note of the continued rise in Covid-19 cases, particularly in states like Maharashtra and Gujarat, while considering measures to increase the pace of economic activities. The ongoing return of migrant workers to their home states and problems this is likely to cause in restarting the economy is also likely to be discussed.

Unlike what has been the case in previous interactions with CMs, all of those who participate on Monday will speak. The PM is understood to be keen to receive feedback on easing of curbs post-May 4 and whether the CMs want the lockdown to continue within the more relaxed parameters currently in force.

On Sunday, several state chief secretaries told Union Cabinet secretary Rajiv Gauba while measures to contain the pandemic were needed, it was necessary for economic activities to be stepped up in a calibrated manner.

The mood in the Union government remains cautious as the national count of Covid-19 cases rises even if the infection rate is not galloping.

‘Modi to focus on worst-affected states like Maha and Gujarat’

It is felt gains of the lockdown, that have come at a huge economic cost, should not be put at risk and this could mean curbs will remain on inter-state movement and public transport. The return of migrants to the hinterland will also need to be monitored for any spread of the disease.

The third, and the most relaxed, phase of the lockdown will end on May 17. The previous decision to extend the lockdown was taken after most CMs favoured such a course of action. Going forward, the regime of red, orange and green zones is likely to continue for some time even if activities and movement within a state become freer and governments get more leeway on framing rules.

Modi’s focus, said sources, will also be on worst affected states like Maharashtra and Gujarat, where Covid-19 positive cases have been rising at an alarming pace.

On Sunday, Cabinet secretary Rajiv Gauba told state chief secretaries that more than 350 Shramik Special trains had been run by railways so far to carry 3.5 lakh migrant workers home. He emphasised movement of doctors, nurses and paramedics should be totally unhindered and all steps taken to facilitate and protect corona warriors.

The three phases of lockdown are seen to have delivered significant results in keeping Covid-19 infections in control but the high incidence in major cities like Mumbai, Delhi, Ahmedabad and Chennai, which are also economic hubs, are worrying the Centre.

At a recent briefing, the health ministry said citizens will have to “learn to live with the virus”. While several restrictions have been lifted based on the rate of infection in various parts of the country, the PM’s interaction with CMs is likely to focus on reviving economic activities only in a graded manner.

Passenger Trains Back On Track Tomorrow

Passenger Trains Back On Track Tomorrow

Bookings Will Open Online At 4pm Today

Dipak.Dash@timesgroup.com

New Delhi: 11.105.2020

In the first cautious step towards restoring mass transport, limited passenger train services will resume from Tuesday, connecting Delhi with 15 major cities, including Mumbai, Howrah, Patna, Bengaluru, Ahmedabad and Dibrugarh, even before the third phase of the lockdown ends. The resumption of train operations would be gradual, the railway ministry said on Sunday.

Bookings can be done only through IRCTC website and will start from 4 pm on Monday. No one will be able to purchase tickets from counters or buy platform tickets. Only asymptomatic passengers with confirmed and valid tickets will be allowed to enter the station and they will need to wear face masks. They will be allowed to travel after medical screening. People who had earlier booked tickets to travel during this period won’t be allowed to board these trains.

Sources said all trains to be operated initially will have only AC coaches with limited stops between origin and destination stations. “These trains will run like Rajdhanis and hence the fare will be equivalent to what is charged for travel in Rajdhani trains,” said a source. The frequency of services between Delhi and select cities will be almost like that of normal Rajdhani services before lockdown. “It may take a few more days to put everything in place and mobilisation of rakes to have regular service of these trains on the identified routes,” the source said.

Enforcing social distancing to be a challenging task for railways

The move may signal efforts to restore mass transport like buses, metros and airlines in the coming weeks. However, the task will be challenging given the need for social distancing and ensuring hygiene and health parameters on long distance travel involving hundreds of passengers.

In an official statement, the ministry said after starting special passenger train services, railways will start more services on new routes, based on available coaches after reserving 20,000 coaches for Covid-19 care centres and adequate number of coaches for up to 300 daily Shramik Special trains for stranded migrants. There is a possibility of early resumption of other premium trains such as Vande Bharat and Duronto.

Meanwhile, sources said railways was working on options of food and other catering services on the trains and one of the option was to provide packed food. Ministry officials said more details about the number of people to be allowed in a coach and other related information would be made available on Monday.

TOI leads The Hindu by 49,000 in Chennai

TOI leads The Hindu by 49,000 in Chennai

TIMES NEWS NETWORK

Chennai: 11.10.2020

The Times of India remains the No 1 English daily in Chennai, growing steadily over the last four quarters to touch an average issue readership (AIR) of 2.96 lakh, shows the latest Indian Readership Survey (IRS).

The IRS for the fourth quarter of 2019 shows TOI Chennai increased its lead over the nearest competitor, The Hindu, to 49,000 from 1,000 in the first quarter. While TOI Chennai’s AIR grew by 17,000 between IRS quarter three and quarter four, The Hindu’s AIR dropped by 20,000.

TOI is also the fastest growing English daily in the rest of Tamil Nadu — it grew 165% by the fourth quarter compared to the IRS first quarter figures. In the fourth quarter alone, TOI’s AIR grew by 12,000 in the rest of Tamil Nadu, compared to The Hindu’s growth of 2,000.

The Times of India remains the dominant market leader among English dailies countrywide, with a total readership of more than 1.73 crore, almost equal to the combined readership of the three biggest dailies from outside the Times Group — The Hindu, Hindustan Times and The Indian Express.

The latest IRS data show that while the readership of all English dailies rose by 5.9 lakh over the previous quarter, this was mainly driven by a 3.6 lakh-rise in the readership of the TOI main paper. The share of group publications (The Economic Times and Mirrors besides TOI) among English dailies continued to grow to reach 52.6%.

The all-India dominance is also reflected in the country’s largest cities. In almost every case, the TOI main paper has either consolidated its leadership and widened the gap with its closest rival or, in the few cities where it is not the leader, it has narrowed the gap with the leader.

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[Breaking] Railways To Resume Passenger Train Services In Select Routes From May 12

[Breaking] Railways To Resume Passenger Train Services In Select Routes From May 12: Indian Railways will gradually restart passenger train operations from 12th May, 2020, initially with 15 pairs of trains (30 return journeys). These trains will be run as special trains from New Delhi...

Breaking] Railways To Resume Passenger Train Services In Select Routes From May 12

Breaking] Railways To Resume Passenger Train Services In Select Routes From May 12 

LIVELAW NEWS NETWORK

10 May 2020 9:33 PM 

Indian Railways will gradually restart passenger train operations from 12th May, 2020, initially with 15 pairs of trains (30 return journeys). 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. 

Thereafter, 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. 

Booking for reservation in these trains will start at 4 pm on 11th May and will be available only on the IRCTC website (https://www.irctc.co.in/). Ticket booking counters at the railway stations shall remain closed and no counter tickets (including platform tickets) shall be issued. Only passengers with valid confirmed tickets will be allowed to enter the railway stations. 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. Further details including train schedule will be issued separately in due course. 

Passenger train services have remained suspended since March 22. 

On May 1, the Centre had allowed the running of special trains for transportation of migrants and stranded persons. 

(Source : PIB)