Mumbai-Delhi train fully booked in minutes

Mumbai-Delhi train fully booked in minutes

Ticket costs ₹2,420 for now; passengers to be screened before boarding

12/05/2020, AJEET MAHALE,MUMBAI

(Left) Hoping to catch a vehicle to return home, migrant workers and their family walking on the Mumbai-Nashik Highway on Monday; and migrants from Uttar Pradesh on board a truck. Arunangsu Roy Chowdhury

Minutes after the online ticket window opened on Monday evening, the first special Mumbai-Delhi train to be run on Tuesday was completely booked. The train will leave Mumbai Central at 5.30 p.m. and reach New Delhi railway station at 9.05 a.m.

The tickets can only be booked through the Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation portal or the mobile application, with a forward booking window of up to one week. Barring 15 pairs of trains, all other trains are still cancelled.

A dynamic pricing policy is in force, with tickets priced according to the Rajdhani Express rates. A ticket between Mumbai Central and New Delhi costs ₹2,420.

Passengers have been asked to arrive at the station at least 90 minutes before the departure time. The ticket also mentions that dry, ready-to-eat meals and packaged drinking water “will be available in the train on payment”. The trains only have three-tier air-conditioned (AC), two-tier AC and First AC compartments. “Passengers will be checked before boarding. Any passenger who shows signs (of COVID-19) will not be allowed to board,” said Ravinder Bhakar, chief public relations officer, WR.

No linen will provided on trains and there will be minimal staff. The number of stops have also been curtailed. Mr. Bhakar said the train was fully booked, including the middle berth in three-tier AC coaches.

The Railways were initially not allowing the Shramik Special trains for migrant workers to run at full capacity in line with physical distancing norms. The reduction of the middle berth in Shramik Special trains had reduced each coach’s capacity to 54 seats from the regular 72 seats. As a result, the trains have only been carrying between 1,100 and 1,200 passengers every day.

However, a few days ago, railway officials said the policy had been changed to allow middle berths. This will add nearly 400 seats to each train’s capacity.