Ministry of Railways urges people to avoid travelling by train amid coronavirus outbreak

On Saturday, the Ministry of Railways advised people to avoid travelling by train in the wake of the novel coronavirus crisis. It noted that some cases had emerged where coronavirus infected passengers had travelled by trains. Moreover, the Ministry called upon the citizens to postpone all scheduled journeys for ensuring safety.  

For instance, 8 passengers in the AP Sampark Kranti Express train from Delhi to Ramagundam on March 13 tested positive for COVID-19. Similarly, 4 passengers in the Godan Express train from Mumbai to Jabalpur on March 16 were confirmed to have contracted COVID-19. In another incident on Saturday, two people who were advised home quarantine were caught travelling in the Rajdhani train from Bengaluru to Delhi. Currently, there are 283 confirmed cases of COVID-19 in India, besides one death reported in Mumbai, Delhi, Punjab and Kalaburagi. 

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Pan-India shutdown on March 22

In a big development, Indian Railways on Friday announced that there will be a pan-India shutdown for all passenger trains on Sunday on account of Janta Curfew. In a statement, it was stated that all trains originating from 10 pm on March 21 to March 22 midnight will be suspended. Passenger trains already in operation on Sunday at 7 am will be allowed to run on the 'Janta Curfew' day.

Moreover, suburban services in Mumbai, Delhi, Kolkata, Chennai, and Secunderabad shall be reduced to a bare minimum level only to cater to essential travel requirements on March 22. Similarly, mails/express trains originating on the day of 'Janta curfew' are being cancelled, but those already running will be allowed to proceed. On Sunday, it was clarified that 60% of Central Railway services would be operational instead of the mega block. 

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