GUWAHATI, Nov 9 - Maligaon-headquartered Northeast Frontier Railway (NFR) has said that most of the special trains are running with almost full occupancy in the zone.
�At present 21 pairs of passenger special trains are running in the zone. Moreover, 12 pairs of festival special and two pairs of �clone� special trains are also in operation. So, overall, presently 35 pairs of passenger carrying long-distance special trains are in operation in the zone,� NFR Chief Public Relations Officer (CPRO) Subhanan Chanda said.
�Out of the 21 pairs of passenger specials, 15 pairs are running with full occupancy in both directions. Besides, three special trains are running with full occupancy while originating in NFR and during return, their occupancy varies from 50 per cent to 70 per cent. On the rest of the trains, occupancy varies from 55 per cent to 85 per cent in both directions.�
Among the 12 pairs of festival specials, trains like the Agartala-Sealdah Tri-weekly Special and the Kamakhya-Anand Vihar Daily Special are running with full occupancy in both directions.
Some trains including the Silchar-Sealdah Tri-weekly Special and the Guwahati-Silchar Bi-weekly Special are running with more than 90 per cent occupancy, while the Kolkata-Guwahati AC Special is running with about 70 per cent occupancy.
The �clone� special trains (which run as an alternative to an actual train and ferry waitlisted passengers of that train to their destinations) are also running with full occupancy from the NFR side, Chanda added.
�Passengers are now feeling confident to undertake rail travel in view of the safety measures taken by the Railways. NFR is taking various precautionary measures for the safety of passengers by adhering to COVID-19 protocol, apart from spreading awareness among its passengers about the Dos and Don�ts to be followed during rail travel. The introduction of special passenger train services has enabled commuters to undertake essential travels as the economic and other activities are gradually opening up in the country,� said the NFR CPRO.
Immediately after the total national lockdown was lifted, Indian Railways started operating 15 pairs of special trains having only air-conditioned coaches connecting various cities with New Delhi with effect from May 12. Later, more pairs of passenger special trains connecting various cities of the country were put into operation.
Festival special trains have also been introduced to cater to the need of travelling public in the festive season. In addition, �clone� trains are being run on routes where there is more rush.
Regular train services continue to remain suspended throughout the country since the first nationwide lockdown started.
