Trains to start tomorrow, booking from today.

Pv vivek

The Indian Railways will start operating passenger trains gradually from Tuesday for the first time in nearly two months after they were stopped to control the spread of the coronavirus disease (Covid-19).

The national transporters will begin booking tickets for the first set of 15 pairs of trains from 4pm on Monday through Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation (IRTC), its subsidiary online ticketing arm.

Officials have said the resumption of passenger trains will allow people who had been stranded to book trains. This is also for those who need to get back to work and have been stuck since the lockdown.These 15 trains will operate from New Delhi connecting Dibrugarh, Agartala, Howrah, Patna, Bilaspur, Ranchi, Bhubaneswar, Secunderabad, Bengaluru, Chennai, Thiruvananthapuram, Madgaon, Mumbai Central, Ahmedabad and Jammu Tawi. These will also include return journeys.

* These trains will include only AC coaches with a similar fare structure as the premium Rajdhani trains. The trains will include 1 AC, 2 AC and 3 AC class and will run with nearly full capacity. The trains will also have stoppages at major routes.

* Online ticketing will be allowed and ticket booking counters at the railway stations shall remain closed and no counter tickets, including platform tickets, will be issued.

Only passengers with valid confirmed tickets will be allowed to enter the railway stations. Passengers could be asked to reach the station with time in hand for smooth security clearance.

Follow latest updates on coronavirus here

* It will be mandatory for passengers to wear face masks on these trains, which will only have air-conditioned (AC) coaches and charge fares equivalent to that in premium Rajdhani trains.

People will be screened at the station and only those not showing symptoms of Covid-19 will be allowed to travel.

hindustantimes.com