All train services suspended till March 25 amid coronavirus outbreak
All train services including passenger, mail/express have been suspended till March 31 amid coronavirus outbreak as confirmed cases in the country surged to 324 on Sunday while 6 fatalities have been reported till date. In the nation-wide train services shut down, no passenger train will be put to service till March 31. Apart from this, 400 other mail/express trains, that are currently running won't commence for any new journey once they reach their destinations. Moreover, major railway stations having mass gatherings of passengers will be evacuated. According to sources, a meeting of railway officials will be held on March 31 to decide whether the suspension of train services will be extended or not.
Several passenger train services were already suspended on the Janata Curfew day (today) after PM Modi requested all citizens to refrain from public gatherings, stay at home, in order to break the chain to contain coronavirus cases in the country. On Saturday, 8 people, who had travelled in AP Sampark Kranti and 4 people, travelled in Godan Express, were found positive for coronavirus. Therefore, it has become extremely important to stop inter-state spread of the disease as cases continue to rise in the country. However, the services of goods train will continue as scheduled.
Don't rush to cancel tickets, says Railways
Meanwhile, the Indian Railways has asked the passengers not to come immediately to the reservation counters to cancel their tickets. It relaxed the refund period of cancelled tickets for three months. In a statement, the Railway Ministry said all rules for e-ticket remain the same as a passenger does not need to come to a station for a refund.
The railways said that in case the train is cancelled by Indian Railways for journey period from March 21 March to April 15, the refund across the counter can be made on submission of ticket up to three months from date of journey.
"This relaxation is for three months journey period i.e. from March 21 to June 21, 2020," the railways said. Earlier, to cancel a ticket booked from the reservation counter, a passenger needed to submit the ticket from three hours to 72 hours.
The railways further said that if the train has not been cancelled by the national transporter and the passenger does not want to continue the journey, "then ticket deposit receipt (TDR) can be filed within 30 days from date of journey at the station".
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