Coronavirus update: Indian Railways cancels all passenger trains till March 31

The Indian Railways said on Sunday all passengers trains across the country will not run till March 31 extending its initial order of cancelling trains only on March 22 for the Janta Curfew as the number of Covid-19 patients rose to 341 in India.

The order issued by the ministry of railways said goods trains will continue to run to ensure essential services and that all suburban trains services, including those on the Central and Western Railway, will also be stopped till March 31.

“All originating long-distance mail/Express and Intercity trains (including premium trains) and all originating passenger trains shall remain cancelled till 2400 hours of 31.03.2020,” it said in a circular.

“As advised earlier, suburban trains and trains of Metro Railway, Kolkata shall be continued at bare minimum level until 2400 hours of 22.03.2020. Thereafter, all suburban trains and trains of Metro Railway, Kolkata shall be totally cancelled from 2400 hours of 22.03.2020 to 2400 hours of 31.03.2020,” it added.

The decision was taken following a high-level meeting with the members of the Railway Board and the cabinet secretary on Sunday.

Two more Covid-19-linked deaths were also reported—one in Bihar and the other in Mumbai—taking the total number of deaths to six across the country so far.

The move comes a day after two state governments—West Bengal and Jharkhand ordered to ban entry of all train till March 31.

Before this, the railways issued an advisory to those under quarantine to not travel by trains after the national transporter found at least 12 passengers flouting self-quarantine norms and subsequently testing positive for Sar-Cov-2.

Two more passengers were deboarded from the Mumbai to Delhi Rajdhani on Saturday evening. Officials of the railways ministry said the passengers were returning from Dubai and asked to get down at Surat after their quarantine stamps were identified.