GUWAHATI, May 21 - As part of the Railway Ministry�s plan to go for graded restoration of passenger services across the country, six trains are to be run within and to and from the Northeast Frontier Railway (NFR) zone.
�Ministry of Railways, in consultation with the Ministry of Health & Family Welfare and the Ministry of Home Affairs, has decided that train services on Indian Railways will be further partially restored. Indian Railways will start operation of 200 passenger train (or 100 pairs) services from June 1 and booking of tickets for all these trains commenced at 10 am today. These special services will be in addition to the existing Shramik Special trains being run since May 1 and the Passenger Special AC trains being run since May 12. Other regular passenger services including all Mail and Express, Passenger and narrow gauge services shall remain cancelled until further advice,� said Subhanan Chanda, Chief Public Relations Officer (CPRO) of NFR.
The trains which are planned for operation within and to and from the NFR area are the 05955/05966 Delhi-Dibrugarh Brahmaputra Mail, the 05645/05646 Guwahati-Lokmanya Tilak Terminus Express, the 02067/02068 Guwahati-Jorhat Town Jan Shatabdi Express, the 02407/02408 Amritsar-New Jalpaiguri Karmabhumi Express, the 05484/05483 Delhi-Alipurduar Mahananda Express, and the 02377/02378 Sealdah-Alipurduar Padatik Express.
�These trains will be special trains on the pattern of regular trains and they will have both AC and non-AC classes and general coaches with reserved seats. There will be no unreserved coaches. The timings and stoppages of these trains will be as per regular trains,� said Chanda.
Tickets for these trains can be booked through the Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation (IRCTC) website or Mobile App only. �No tickets can be booked across the reservation counter at any railway station. Booking of tickets through IRCTC agents and railway agents is also not permitted,� said Chanda.
Only passengers with confirmed tickets will be allowed to enter the railway stations.
�RAC and waiting list will be generated as per extant rules. However, waiting list ticket holders will not be permitted to board the train. No tickets will be issued onboard to any passenger during the journey. No Tatkal and Premium Tatkal booking is permitted in these trains. Railway Passengers (Cancellation of Ticket and Refund of Fare) Rules, 2015 will be applicable to ticket cancellation. The advance reservation period will be a maximum of 30 days,� said the NFR CPRO.
Linen, blankets and curtains will not be provided inside the train.
�Four categories of Divyangjan concession and 11 categories of patient concessions are permitted in these special trains. Catering charges will not be included in the fare. Passengers are encouraged to carry their own food and drinking water. However, IRCTC will make provision for limited eatables and packaged drinking water on a payment basis only in those trains having a pantry car attached,� said Chanda.
Only asymptomatic passengers will be allowed to enter the railway stations and board the trains.
�All passengers must wear face covers or masks at the entry and during travel. The passengers will have to reach the station at least 90 minutes in advance to facilitate pre-boarding thermal screening. Passengers will have to observe social distancing both at the station and on trains. On arrival at their destination, the travelling passengers will have to adhere to such health protocol as prescribed by the state or Union Territory where a train will finally end its journey,� said Chanda.
