Indian Railways cancels all passenger trains till May 17

After the Central government extended the nationwide lockdown till May 17, the Indian Railways today extended the suspension of all its passenger services during the period amid Covid-19 threat

"The cancellation of all passenger train services extended till May17. However movement of migrant workers, pilgrims, tourists,students&other persons stranded at different places to be carried out by Shramik special trains. Freight&Parcel train operations shall continue,a statement from Ministry of Railways said.

The decision to extend the lockdown by two more weeks after May 3, when the second phase of these restrictions was scheduled to end, came amid a continuous rise in the number of people testing positive for the deadly virus infection across various states, including in major metropolitans, with the nationwide tally crossing 35,000. The death toll has crossed 1,100.

The Ministry of Railways said all passenger train services including premium trains, Mail/Express trains, Passenger trains, Suburban Trains, Kolkata Metro Rail, Konkan Railway etc shall continue to remain suspended till 17 May

All ticket bookings will remain suspended till further orders, the Railways said adding that no advance reservation of trains tickets, including e-tickets, can be made till further orders. The online train ticket cancellation facility remains functional.

The Indian Railways has been running parcel special trains since the start of the lockdown to ensure the supply of perishable commodities including fruits, vegetables, milk and dairy products and seeds for agriculture purpose. Freight trains are also running.

The railways has already converted 5,000 coaches into isolation wards for Covid-19 patients and plans to add another 15,000 coaches to the list.