- Indian Railways issued a clarification that there is no plan to run any special train to clear the passenger rush
- Around 15,523 trains run by the railways have been affected due to the lockdown
After thousands of migrant workers converged near the Bandra railway station in Mumbai hoping to catch trains back to their home states, Railway Ministry has said that all passenger train services remain cancelled.
The Railway Ministry issued the clarification after rumours started doing round that Indian Railways will ply special trains from April 15 to ferry the stranded migrants in various parts of the country including Delhi and Mumbai.
The Northern Railway Zone also issued an advisory after what happened in Mumbai earlier during the day when thousands of migrants gathered at Bandra railway station hoping to catch trains to their native places,
“The general public is informed that a decision has been taken to not run any trains by Northern Railways till 3rd May 2020 in view of COVID-19, hence such fake news in circulation may not be believed,” a Northern Railways spokesperson said.
Amidst rumours that train services in the country will be resumed from April 15, the Railway Ministry also issued a clarification on Twitter.
It is clarified that all Passenger train services are fully cancelled, across the nation, till 3rd May 2020 and there is no plan to run any special train to clear the passenger rush
All concerned may pl.take note of the same and help us in resisting any wrong news in this regard
— Ministry of Railways (@RailMinIndia) April 14, 2020
“It is clarified that all passenger train services are fully cancelled across the nation till 3rd May 2020 and there is no plan to run any special train to clear the passenger rush. All concerned may please take note of the same and help us in resisting any wrong news in this regard,” the railway ministry said on the social networking website.”The only way to prevent the spread of Covid-19 is by social distancing. Movement of public by public transport system cannot ensure social distancing. It is in this context that trains and buses are not being allowed to run in this crucial lockdown period. Even a single infected person travelling in a train can pass on the infection to thousands of passengers,” a senior official of the railways said.
The official said in the early days of the spread of the pandemic, at least 12 cases were reported where those marked with home quarantine travelled in trains and could have spread the virus.
The official further said boarding and deboarding at different stations will continue to aggravate the situation further.
“With many trains running, this number will get multiplied manifold. Moreover, once this large no of people will reach their respective villages, infection will spread there as well and it all will become unmanageable. The contact tracing will become impossible in such a scenario,” the official said, adding that it was in public and national interest that social distancing be ensured at any cost.
Around 15,523 trains run by the railways have been affected due to the lockdown including 9,000 passenger trains and 3,000 mail express services which are run daily during normal circumstances.
With agency inputs
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