Coronavirus crisis: Indian Railways resume services gradually; Train ticket reservation begins

New Delhi, May 11: While the novel coronavirus-induced lockdown is inching towards the end of the third phase, the Indian Railways has announced that it would gradually resume the services across routes from May 12. The bookings for the ticket will be open on the IRCTC website from 4 pm today.

On Sunday, the Indian Railways announced that train services, which were stopped since Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced a complete lockdown of the country, will gradually resume, starting with 15 special trains in the first phase. But, there are few things a passenger must note before boarding the train.

According to reports, the trains would be fully air-conditioned and will run on full capacity unlike the 'Shramik Special trains' that are running with reduced capacity.

The bookings for these trains will start on May 11 from 4 pm and would be available on the IRCTC website that is http://www.irctc.co.in. Also, it is important to note that train tickets can be booked only through the IRCTC website or on the mobile app. The agents, that are booking the tickets will not be allowed.

Tatkal and premium Tatkal bookings will not be available for now. The ticket fare for the Rajdhani trains will be as per the rate of super-fast trains. No concession in fare.

Also, the railways mentioned that tickets will not be issued from counters. This also includes platform tickets. Only passengers with confirmed train tickets will be allowed to enter the railway stations.

Meanwhile, passengers travelling in these air-conditioned trains will have to carry their own blankets to reduce the chances of the spread of coronavirus. There will be special norms for the air-conditioning inside the coaches and temperatures will be kept slightly higher than the usual.