Indian Railways in a bid for graded restoration will begin 200 new services from today. The new services are in addition to 30 Rajdhani services being provided since May 12 connecting New Delhi to various destinations across India.

IRCTC has also restored the Tatkal bookings for all these trains, reports LiveMint.com. Passengers can also book tickets for these trains 120 days, the report adds. Earlier, these special trains could only be booked 30 days in advance.

Apart from these changes, the Railways has also started accepting parcel and luggage in these 230 passenger trains, All these changes came into effect from 8.00 am on May 31, 2020.

The latest round of special trains is part of Indian Railways’ efforts toward graded restoration of train services. The railways will continue the Shramik Trains in big numbers to help move migrants.

Indian Railways informed that more than 1.5 lakh passengers have booked in the trains slated to start from today, reports Times of India. The trains starting today include Express, Shatabdi, Duronto, and Garit Rath trains.

Passengers need to take care of these special instructions:

  • Passengers need to have confirmed tickets to be allowed to board the train.
  • Screening of all passengers will be done before boarding and only asymptomatic passengers will be allowed to board.
  • All passengers should have Aarogya Setu app downloaded in their smart phones.
  • In case a passenger is deemed unfit to travel, full refund will be issued.
  • Four categories of differently-abled passengers and 11 categories of other passenger concessions are permitted for these trains.
  • Passengers will have to adhere to health and quarantine protocols as prescribed by the destination state/UT.
  • No linen, blankets, or curtains shall be provided in these trains.
  • The passengers must reach the station at least 90 minutes before the departure of the train, to allow time for thermal screening. Physical distancing will be observed both on the stations and on the trains.
  • Passengers are encouraged to bring their own food and water. However, provision of limited eatables and packaged drinking water shall be provided in some trains on payment.