Coronavirus Outbreak: Railways extends suspension of passenger services till 3 May as govt increases lockdown period

New Delhi: The Indian Railways on Tuesday extended the suspension of all its passenger services till 3 May, following Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s decision to extend the nationwide lockdown amid COVID-19 threat. Modi on Tuesday announced that the lockdown across the country will be extended till 3 May to fight the coronavirus pandemic, saying the measure has produced a significant outcome in containing the infection.

All passenger train services on Indian Railways including Premium trains, Mail/Express trains, Passenger trains, Suburban Trains, Kolkata Metro Rail, Konkan Railway etc shall continue to remain cancel till the 2400hrs of 3rd May 2020. #IndiaFightsCorona

— Ministry of Railways (@RailMinIndia) April 14, 2020

“In continuation of the measures taken in the wake of COVID-19 lockdown, it has been decided that all passenger train services on Indian Railways, including premium trains, mail/express trains, passenger trains, suburban trains, Kolkata Metro Rail, Konkan Railway shall continue to remain cancelled till 2400 hours of 3 May,” a statement from the railways said. Click here to follow LIVE updates on coronavirus outbreak It also said that to ensure essential supplies in various parts of the country, movement of goods and parcel trains will remain operational. The railways also said that all counters for booking of rail journey tickets for reserved/unreserved travel at railway stations and outside railway station premises shall remain closed till May 3 midnight. The Railway Board has also issued instructions to the zones that full refunds for fares of cancelled trains should be initiated by them. “No advance reservations shall be made till further notice,” it said. After Modi’’s announcement of a 21-day lockdown across the country on 22 March, the railways on 24 March had announced that its suspension of all passenger services will continue till 14 April in the wake of the coronavirus outbreak. The railways said that passengers could claim a full refund for all trains cancelled in this period till 21 June. Around 12,000 trains will be affected. The Indian Railways operates around 9,000 passenger trains and 3,000 mail express services daily. India has reported 10,363 cases of the virus and 339 deaths so far.