New Delhi: No passenger train will originate from any railway station in the country from midnight to 10 pm on Sunday in view of the "Janta curfew" announced by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, sources said on Friday.

The sources also told PTI that mail and express trains will also stop services from 4 am on Sunday.

All suburban train services to be reduced to a bare minimum as well. As of now, the Indian Railways has cancelled 245 trains in order to restrict unnecessary travel due to the coronavirus outbreak.

Pitching for "social distancing", Modi on Thursday called for a 'Janta curfew' from 7 am to 9 pm on March 22, saying no citizen, barring those in essential services, should get out of their houses, and asserted that it will be a litmus test to show India's readiness to take on the coronavirus challenge.

This experience will serve the nation well, he added.

"This Sunday, that is on March 22, all citizens must follow this curfew from 7 am until 9 pm. During this curfew, we shall neither leave our homes, nor get onto the streets and refrain from roaming about in our societies or areas.

Only those associated with emergency and essential services may leave their homes," he said.