Railways set to get back on track

Railways set to get back on track

Over 1.45 lakh are set to travel today

01/06/2020, SPECIAL CORRESPONDENT,NEW DELHI

About 26 lakh passengers had booked in advance till Sunday morning.

More than 1.45 lakh passengers are booked to travel via trains on Monday as the Railways begins graded restoration of passenger services with 200 new special trains.

As per the data shared by the Railways, till Sunday morning, nearly 26 lakh passengers had booked in advance for the reservation period from June 1 to June 3. These 200 trains will be run in addition to the 30 special passenger trains that started operations on May 12, as well as the Shramik Special trains.

Meanwhile, a Railways spokesperson said that some States, such as Jharkhand, Andhra Pradesh and Maharashtra, have expressed reservations about the running of trains or the number of stoppages as planned. “The matter is being discussed with the States,” the spokesperson added.

As per the new rules for rail travel, passengers will need to reach the station at least 90 minutes in advance and only those with confirmed/RAC (reservation against cancellation) tickets will be allowed to enter the railway station and board the train. Partially wait-listed ticket holders will be allowed (that is, if there are both confirmed as well as wait-listed passengers under a single PNR). All passengers will be compulsorily screened and only asymptomatic people will be allowed to board the train.

Passengers will need to carry their own linen as these items will not be provided on the trains. “All passengers must download and use the Aarogya Setu application,” the Railways said.

The Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation (IRCTC) will make provision for limited availability of eatables and packaged drinking water on payment basis only in limited trains.