Most zones of the Indian Railways on Tuesday increased their platform ticket charges – from Rs 10 to Rs 50 at major stations – in an effort to discourage gathering of large crowds in view of the spreading coronavirus pandemic. The Railways also cancelled at least 85 trains on major routes due to low occupancy.

By Wednesday morning, India reported 147 cases of COVID-19 infections – of whom 14 have been cured and three have died.

A senior Railways official told PTI that to regulate unnecessary crowding at stations, all divisional railway managers had been requested to raise platform ticket prices from Rs 10 to Rs 50 at important stations. “It is only a temporary increase,” the official said. “Prices can be restored when the situation permits.”

The Central Railway said that it had increased the platform ticket prices to Rs 50 on its Mumbai, Pune, Nagpur, Bhusaval and Solapur divisions. The Western Railway said the increase to Rs 50 was applicable for 26 stations, including some key ones in Mumbai, as well as Surat and Vapi. The zone said that the crowds at these stations had reduced following the move.

The South Central Railway announced increase in the ticket prices at all stations – to Rs 50 at the 84 most important ones, and to Rs 20 at the other 499 stations, PTI reported.

The Central Railway cancelled 23 trains, South Central Railway cancelled 29, while Western Railway cancelled 10 trains. The south eastern zone cancelled nine trains, and the east coast and northern zones cancelled five each. The North Western Railway cancelled four trains.

On Tuesday, Union Railways Minister Piyush Goyal had held a meeting to discuss the steps to be taken to prevent the spread of the coronavirus.

Railways also issued guidelines for all staff of its catering units to maintain personal hygiene and to use protective gear while dealing with food production and services to passengers.