India to restart 200 passenger trains from 1 June

Indian Railways have announced that they will restart 200 passenger trains from 1 June, after more than two months of suspended services due to the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic.

The tickets will be available for booking via the IRCTC website from 10am local time on 21 May.

Earlier this month, Indian Railways announced that it will gradually restart passenger train operations in the country from 12 May.

The Indian Ministry of Railways suspended passenger railway operations until 17 May.

All the coaches of the train will be reserved, including the general coaches. Unreserved tickets will not be available and passengers will not be issued onboard tickets during the journey.

Passengers who have waitlist tickets cannot board the trains. Ticket booking counters will be closed at the railway stations.

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi issued a national lockdown to restrict the spread of Covid-19 in the country.

The country has been on lockdown since 25 March. The current lockdown, Lockdown 4.0, will last until 1 June.

The Ministry of Railways also announced that it will operate Shramik Special trains to help stranded migrant workers, pilgrims, tourists, students and other people to reach their homes.

The country has also planned to use train coaches as Covid-19 isolation wards in response to the growing number of cases.

India’s Ministry of Health and Family Welfare has so far reported around 63,624 active cases in the country and 3,435 deaths.