List of select passenger trains from 12 May: Routes, new rules and where to book

On 22 March 2020, Indian Railways had stopped all passenger trains across the country as a preventive measure against the COVID-19 pandemic. Only freight operations have been continuing on the national rail network during the lockdown. People all across the country have been unable to travel back to their respective native cities, towns, and villages. Now that the gradual relaxation phase is commencing, Indian Railways has revealed a list of select passenger trains that will operate from 12 May 2020. It will initially commence with 15 pairs of trains (30 return journeys). The list includes select passenger trains from New Delhi connecting Dibrugarh, Agartala. Howrah, Patna, Bilaspur, Ranchi, Bhubaneswar, Secunderabad, Bengaluru, Chennai, Thiruvananthapuram, Madgaon, Mumbai Central, Ahmedabad and Jammu Tawi, commencing on 12 May.

List of passenger trains to start from 12 May:

1.NEW DELHI TO AHMEDABAD

2.NEW DELHI TO CHENNAI

3.NEW DELHI TO SECUNDERABAD

4.NEW DELHI TO BHUBANESWAR

5.NEW DELHI TO AGARTALA

6.NEW DELHI TO BILASPUR

7.NEW DELHI TO MUMBAI

8.NEW DELHI TO JAMMU TAVI

9.NEW DELHI TO THIRUVANANTHAPURAM

10.NEW DELHI TO MADGAON

11.NEW DELHI TO HOWRAH

12.NEW DELHI TO PATNA

13.NEW DELHI TO RANCHI

14.NEW DELHI TO DIBRUGARH

15.NEW DELHI TO BANGLORE

Thereafter, Indian Railways shall start more special services on new routes based on the available coaches. Priority is being given to reserving 20.000 coaches for COVID-19 care centres. Also, an adequate number of coaches are being reserved to enable operations, of up to 300 trains every day, as “Shramik Special” for stranded migrants.

Booking for reservation in these trains, commencing from 12 May, will start at 4 PM on 11 May 2020 and will be available only on the IRCTC website (https://www.irctc.co.in). The ticket booking counters at the railway stations shall remain closed and no counter tickets (including platform tickets) shall be issued. Only passengers with valid confirmed tickets will be allowed to enter the railway stations. It will be mandatory for the passengers to wear face cover and undergo screening at departure. Strictly only asymptomatic passengers will be allowed to board the train. Indian Railways have ascertained that further details, including train schedules, will be issued separately.