Unlock 4.0: Railway Ministry Plans To Introduce 100 More Special Passenger Trains; In Talks With State Govts

The Indian railways had cancelled all regular train services since March 25 when Prime Minister Narendra Modi declared a nation-wide lockdown in view of Coronavirus outbreak.

(File Photo/ Getty)

With gradually lifting the months-long lockdown and resuming the economic activities which came to stand-still with the outbreak of novel Coronavirus, the government has also eased the restrictions on travel via flights and trains. After resuming several passenger trains in past few weeks, the Indian central government is now planning to introduce more passenger trains in addition to already running trains as the country enters Unlock 4 from September 1 till September 30. According it the reports, the Indian Railway ministry has proposed to add service of another 100 special trains in addition to the ones that are already running, and has even approached to the state governments to hold further discussions in this regard. As stated in several media reports, a senior Railway Ministry official aware of the developments said that the Indian Railways is in consultation with the state governments and is planning to operate 100 more trains in the coming days. The Indian railways had cancelled all regular train services since March 25 when Prime Minister Narendra Modi declared a nation-wide lockdown in view of containing the spread of deadly COVID-19 infection. Post this, the IRCTC suspended advance reservation for regular train services from April 15. The national transporter than resumed the train services in a phased manner with 30 Rajdhani-like AC trains in the initial period, and then 200 more trains since June 1. Now that the Unlock 4 kicks, the Ministry of Home Affairs has eased several restrictions. In fact, under the new guidelines, Metro rail will be allowed to operate with effect from September 7, in a graded manner, by the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs/ Ministry of Railways, in consultation with MHA. In this regard, Standard Operating Procedure will be issued by MOHUA.