With the Indian Railways announcing a gradual resumption of services starting tomorrow, the railways made some changes in facilities provided to passengers of special trains and ticket booking arrangements.
As many as 15 special trains will run from the New Delhi to other cities.
The global pandemic that infected 67,000 people in India forced railways to change how it operates trains. From wearing masks to only online tickets — if you are planning to book a train ticket, here are the changes you must know.
1)The tickets can only be booked by IRCTC official website or mobile app. The booking will be starting from today at 4 pm.
2)Bookings through agents will not be accepted .No tatkal ticket or premium tatkal reservation will be available for these trains. Only confirmed tickets shall be booked. Indian Railways is not allowing bookings of RAC/waiting list ticket. Current booking shall not be allowed.
3) The ARP (advance reservation period) shall be for a maximum of seven days. Catering charges will not be included in the ticket fare.
4) Provision for pre-paid meal booking, e-catering shall be disabled. IRCTC shall make provisions for ‘dry ready to eat’ meals and packaged drinking water on payment on board.
5) Only passengers with confirmed and valid tickets will be allowed to enter the station at Delhi, the Railways warned.
6) The special trains will be air-conditioned. The fare will be equivalent to Rajdhani Express fares. These train will have only a few stoppages,’ the railways official said.
7) Passengers will go through a screening before boarding the train. You might need to reach station early to follow all the norms.
8) Only asymptomatic people or those who do not show any symptoms of coroanvirus will be allowed to travel.
9) Wearing masks during the journey will be mandatory. Other dos and don’ts will be mentioned in the tickets. Passengers must install Arogya Setu app to travel.
10) Unlike shramik special train, these special trains will run on full capacity. However, there will not be any concession in fares, officials told. In AC three coaches Only 52 passengers allowed and the middle berth will not be allotted. In Second AC coaches, only 48 passengers allowed.
11) Passengers travelling in these trains may not be given blankets and linen to reduce the chances of the spread of coronavirus. There will be special norms for the air-conditioning inside the coaches.
