New Delhi, May 10: The Indian Railways announced on Sunday that it would be resuming passenger train services in a gradual manner from May 12. On the day when services would restart, trains would leave only from New Delhi, the nodal rail body said, adding that a total of 15 pair of trains would run on Tuesday. Tickets for the trains could only be booked online from May 11 via the irctc.co.in - the official IRCTC website. Piyush Goyal Seeks State Govts' Nods to Ferry Stranded Migrants, Says Railways Can Ply 300 Shramik Special Trains Per Day.

"Plans underway to gradually restart passenger train services from May 12, initially with 15 pairs of trains (30 return journeys)," the Railways said in its notification. "Trains to be run from New Delhi; booking for reservation will start at 4 pm on May 11 and will be available only on IRCTC website," it added.

"Ticket booking counters at stations to remain closed; no counter tickets, including platform tickets, will be issued," the Railways said. "Mandatory to wear face cover, undergo screening at departure; only asymptomatic passengers will be allowed on trains," the statement further read.

See Full Notification Issued by Indian Railways

The train services were suspended from March 22, on the day when Janata Curfew was imposed in the nation. From March 25, a nationwide lockdown was imposed which saw all forms of public transport being suspended to contain the virus transmission.

Full Statement Issued by Railways on Trains' Resumption

Indian Railways plans to 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.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on May 10, 2020 08:51 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).