With the railways resuming passenger services gradually with trains to 15 destinations from Tuesday, close to two months after it stopped them as part of a strategy to slow the spread of COVID-19 disease, the South Central Railway has announced that three trains will be touching the southern region of the country.
"Out of the 15 trains that are being started by the Indian Railways, three of them will be touching the South Central Railway. Out of these three trains, one train will be starting from Secunderabad station and will go till New Delhi. The other two trains will be passing through our South Central Zone, of which one special train will go from Bangalore to New Delhi and other will go from Chennai to New Delhi," Rakesh, Chief Public Relations Officer of South Central Railway, told .
He further said on May 20 the first train will commence from Secunderabad and will run every Wednesday.
"However, the special trains running between Bangalore and New Delhi will be running every day and will be stopping at Ananthapur, Gunthakul, and Secunderabad," he said.
The special train from Chennai to New Delhi, he said, will run twice a week with stops at Warangal and Vijayawada. "Passengers who intend to travel from these stations can avail the services by booking their tickets on IRCTC website," Rakesh said.
As per the Ministry of Indian Railways, only those passengers who have confirmed ticket will be allowed into the station. There will be no provision of the waiting list or Reservation Against Cancellation (RAC) in these trains and neither will there be a provision of the tatkal facility. Passengers need to have a confirmed ticket to travel in these trains. The fare of the ticket will be like Rajadh. However, the catering charges will not be included as the passengers will have to bring their own food.
Urging people to bring their own food and drinking water, Rakesh said, "We appeal the passengers travelling in these trains to also carry their own bedsheets as it will not be supplied by the Railways."
"Before the passengers are allowed to board the trains, they will be screened for COVID-19 symptoms and all passengers will have to wear masks and maintain social distancing during the journey. Our staff will be working round the clock and they have been properly trained to ensure these rules being followed by people," he added.
( With inputs from ANI )