All passenger train services of Indian Railways to remain suspended till 3rd May

New Delhi: All passenger train services of Indian Railways including Premium trains, Mail, Express, Passenger and Suburban Trains, Kolkata Metro Rail, Konkan Railway and other such passenger services will continue to remain suspended till the midnight of May 3, 2020.

Railway Ministry announced this after the nationwide lockdown was extended till May 3, 2020, by the Prime Minister. IRCTC will credit full refund for trains cancelled by Indian Railways in light of the extended lockdown. Passengers do not need to cancel their Electronic tickets. A full refund will also be there for those cancelling the advance bookings of tickets for trains not yet cancelled.

"To ensure the essential supplies in various parts of the country, movement of goods and Parcel trains will continue," Ministry of Railways has said in a notification. It added, "No booking of any type of tickets, including e-tickets shall be done until further advice. However, the facility of online cancellation will remain functional for ticket bookings."

It said all counters for ticket booking for UTS & PRS will remain closed till further orders.

The Indian Railways operates around 9,000 passenger trains and 3,000 mail express services daily. The services of passenger, mail and express trains were cancelled between March 24 and April 14, 2020, to combat the spread of COVID-19.

Besides, the Indian Railways has been running parcel special trains since the start of the lockdown to ensure the supply of perishable commodities including milk and dairy products, as well as fruits, vegetables and seeds for agriculture purpose. Freight trains are also running. The railways have already converted around 5,000 coaches into isolation wards for COVID-19 patients and plan to add another 15,000 coaches to the list.

Earlier in the day, Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced his government's plan to extend lockdown till May 3, 2020. Addressing the nation today PM Modi said, stakeholders and people have favoured extension of lockdown.

He further said a tight vigil will be kept on all hotspots and containment zones and strict implementation of the lockdown will be ensured in coming days so that the virus does not spread to new areas. He added all districts, localities and states will be closely monitored over its performance concerning the implementation of lockdown norms and management of hotspots, till April 20, 2020. He said, after April 20, the states which will not have hotspots or which have not allowed hotspots to come up, they could be allowed, with certain conditions, to let some important activities resume.