Livemint : May 11, 2020, 07:44 PM
New Delhi: Indian Railways announced on Sunday that it plans to gradually resume passenger train operations from 12th May, 2020. The train services will initially begin with 15 pairs of trains or with 30 journeys from Tuesday.Online bookings for reservations were scheduled to begin today from 4 pm via IRCTC website or app. However, due to heavy traffic on the site, the website has been down since.Indian Railways has therefore, deferred the timing of bookings for the special 15 trains by two hours. "Booking for 15 special trains delayed by two hours, will begin at 6 PM now," railways said.Moreover, only online E-Ticketing can be done via the IRCTC website or through its mobile App. No tickets will be booked across the reservation counter on any station. Booking of tickets through ‘agents’, (both IRCTC Agents and Railway Agents) shall not be permitted. Maximum Advance Reservation Period (ARP) will be of not more than seven (7) days, the ministry said in a statement.Only confirmed e-tickets shall be booked. Booking of RAC/Waiting list ticket and on board booking by ticket checking staff shall not be permitted, the ministry added.These trains will be run as special trains to and from New Delhi Station.The Ministry of Railways announced the timings of the trains tat will run from 12 May, 2020:Here is the list of trains which are proposed as Special Trains:Howrah to New Delhi (Daily) via Asansol Jn, Dhanbad Jn, Gaya Jn, Pt. Dd Upadhyaya Jn, Prayagraj Jn.,Kanpur Central (Starting date: 12.05.2020)New Delhi to Howrah (Daily) via Asansol Jn, Dhanbad Jn, Gaya Jn, Pt. Dd Upadhyaya Jn, Prayagraj Jn.,Kanpur Central (Starting date: 13.05.2020)Rajendra Nagar to New Delhi (Daily) via Patna Jn, Pt. Dd Upadhyaya Jn, Prayagraj Jn., Kanpur Central (Starting date - 12.05.2020)New Delhi to Rajendra Nagar (Daily) via Patna Jn, Pt. Dd Upadhyaya Jn, Prayagraj Jn., Kanpur Central (Starting date - 13.05.2020)Dibrugarh to New Delhi (Daily) via Dimapur, Lumding Jn,Guwahati,Kokrajhar,Mariani, New Jalpaiguri, Katihar Jn, , Barauni Jn, Danapur, Pt. Dd Upadhyaya Jn, Prayagraj Jn., Kanpur Central (Starting date - 14.05.2020)New Delhi to Dibrugarh (Daily) via Dimapur, Lumding Jn,Guwahati,Kokrajhar,Mariani, New Jalpaiguri, Katihar Jn, , Barauni Jn, Danapur, Pt. Dd Upadhyaya Jn, Prayagraj Jn., Kanpur Central (Starting date - 12.05.2020)New Delhi to Jammu Tawi (Daily) via Ludhiana (Starting date - 13.05.2020)Jammu Tawi to New Delhi (Daily) via Ludhiana (Starting date - 14.05.2020)Bengaluru to New Delhi (Daily) via Anantapur, Guntakal Jn, Secunderabad Jn,Nagpur, Bhopal Jn, Jhansi Jn, (Starting date - 12.05.2020)New Delhi to Bengaluru (Daily) via Anantapur, Guntakal Jn, Secunderabad Jn,Nagpur, Bhopal Jn, Jhansi Jn, (Starting date - 12.05.2020)Thiruvananthapuram to New Delhi via (Tuesday, Thursday and Friday) Ernakulam Jn, , Kozhikkode, Mangalore, Madgaon,Panvel, Vadodara, Kota (Starting date - 15.05.2020)New Delhi to Thiruvananthapuram (Tuesday, Wednesday, Sunday) via Ernakulam Jn, , Kozhikkode, Mangalore, Madgaon,Panvel, Vadodara, Kota (Starting date - 13.05.2020)Chennai Central to New Delhi via Vijayawada, (F, Sat) Warangal, Nagpur, Bhopal, Jhansi, Agra (Starting date- 15.05.2020)New Delhi to Chennai Central (W, F) via Vijayawada, Warangal, Nagpur, Bhopal, Jhansi, Agra (Starting date- 13.05.2020)Bilaspur to New Delhi via (M, Thu) Raipur Jn, Nagpur, Bhopal, Jhansi (Starting date: 14.05.2020)New Delhi to Bilaspur (Tue, Sat) via Raipur Jn, Nagpur, Bhopal, Jhansi, (Starting date: 12.05.2020)Ranchi to New Delhi (Th, Su) via Pt. Dd Upadhyaya Jn, Kanpur Central (Starting date:14.05.2020)New Delhi to Ranchi (wed, Sat) (Starting date:13.05.2020)Mumbai Central to New Delhi (Daily) via Surat, Vadodra, Ratlam, Kota (Starting date:12.05.2020)New Delhi to Mumbai Central (Daily) (Starting date:13.05.2020)Ahmedabad to New Delhi (Daily) via Palanpur, Abu Road, Jaipur, Gurgaon, (Starting date:12.05.2020)New Delhi to Ahmedabad (Daily) (Starting date:13.05.2020)Agartala to New Delhi via (M, Wed) Badarpur Jn, Guwahati, Kokrajhar,New Jalpaiguri, Katihar Jn, Barauni Jn,Patliputra, Pt. Dd Upadhyaya Jn, Kanpur Central (Starting date:18.05.2020)New Delhi to Agartala via (Wednesday) M Badarpur Jn, Guwahati, Kokrajhar,New Jalpaiguri, Katihar Jn, Barauni Jn,Patliputra, Pt. Dd Upadhyaya Jn, Kanpur Central (Starting date: 20.05.2020)Bhubneshwar to New Delhi (Daily) via Balasor,Hijli (Kharagpur), Tatanagar, Bokaro Stl City, Gaya, Pt. Dd Upadhyaya Jn, Kanpur Central (Starting date:13.05.2020)New Delhi to Bhubneshwar (Daily) (Starting date:14.05.2020)New Delhi Madgaon (Fri, Sat), Ratnagiri, Panvel, Surat, Vadodara Jn, Kota Jn (Starting date:15.05.2020)Madgaon to New Delhi (Mon, Sun) (Starting date: 17.05.2020)Secundarabad to New Delhi (Wednesday) via Nagpur, Bhopal, Jhansi (Starting date: 20.05.2020)New Delhi to Secundarabad (Sunday) via Nagpur, Bhopal, Jhansi (Starting date:17.05.2020)These trains will be run as special trains from New Delhi Station connecting 15 important cities of the country such as Dibrugarh, Agartala, Howrah, Patna, Bilaspur, Ranchi, Bhubaneswar, Secunderabad, Bengaluru, Chennai, Thiruvananthapuram, Madgaon, Mumbai Central, Ahmedabad and Jammu Tawi.All passenger trains will be run with AC coaches only and with limited stoppages. The fare will be equivalent to the ticket fare that is charged for Rajdhani Train, added the ministry.Ticket booking counters at stations will remain closed and no counter tickets, including platform tickets, will be issued, the statement added. It will be mandatory to wear face cover, undergo screening at departure and only asymptomatic passengers will be allowed on trains.No catering charges shall be included in the fare. Provision for prepaid meal booking, e-catering shall be disabled. However, IRCTC shall make provision for limited eatables and packaged drinking water on payment basis. Information to this effect shall be made available to passengers during time of booking ticket, the ministry stated.Dry, ready-to-eat food and bottled water shall be provided on demand, inside the trains on payment basis.Moreover, only the passengers with valid confirmed tickets will be allowed to enter the railway stations.Indian railways had suspended the passenger, mail and express train services on 25 March, 2020 amid the nationwide lockdown announced by Prime Minister Narendra Modi to combat the spread of novel coronavirus in the country.