Passengers onboard special train for Chhattisgarh's Bilaspur on Tuesday praised Indian Railways for the arrangements as the train services resumed from today after over one-and-a-half months owing to a nationwide lockdown enforced to contain coronavirus.
The passengers said that the train is being stised at quick intervals and social distancing is also maintained at the New Delhi railway station.
"We left our house at 6 am for the station. We got the message that entry is being allowed from Paharganj side only. We also got food and water. They asked us to follow social distancing. The train is being stised in quick intervals. We are feeling good inside the train as it is like a new train. We will follow all rules. We had no hope that trains will run," Babloo, a passenger, told .
Another passenger Suryankant Tiwari said that the police helped them reach the station as there is no public transport available due to coronavirus-induced lockdown.
"We were happy when we got the ticket. Police helped us to reach the station. There is a good arrangement at the station. Everyone is following social distancing norm," he said.
Jyoti Awasthi, who is also travelling by the train, said railways have made very good arrangement at the station.
"Cleanliness and stisation is also taken care of. We will self-quarantine ourselves after reaching Bilaspur," she said.
The special train, which is carrying 1490 passengers, left from New Delhi Railway Station for Bilaspur at around 4 pm.
Initially, the Railways will run 15 pairs of trains and booking for these trains started from Monday.
These trains will be run as special trains connecting New Delhi to Dibrugarh, Agartala, Howrah, Patna, Bilaspur, Ranchi, Bhubaneswar, Secunderabad, Bengaluru, Chennai, Thiruvananthapuram, Madgaon, Mumbai Central, Ahmedabad, and Jammu Tawi.
Only online e-ticketing will be done through IRCTC website or through mobile application. Tickets cannot be booked at the reservation counter on any railway station.
Booking of tickets through 'agents' shall not be permitted. Only confirmed e-tickets shall be booked. Maximum Advance Reservation Period (ARP) will be of a maximum seven days.
Current booking, tatkal and premium tatkal booking shall not be permitted. No Unreserved Tickets (UTS) shall be permitted.
( With inputs from ANI )