New Delhi: All the passenger train services across the country have been suspended till March 31 owing to corona virus fear.
The move comes in after 300 people in India were infected and two more death were registered in the country.
The goods train service will be open.
“All passenger train services on Indian Railways including premium train services, mail/express trains, passenger trains, suburban trains, Kolkata Metro, Konkan Raiways, etc, will be cancelled toll March 31. However bare minimum Suburban services and Kolkata metro Rail service will continue to run till 22 March midnight, thereafter these services will also be stopped till 31 March,” announced Ministry of Railways.
“In view of the need to contain the spread of COVID 19, it was agreed that there is urgent need to extend the restrictions on the movement of non-essential passenger transport including inter-state transport buses till 31st March 2020,” said a press release issued by the Center.
“Following detailed discussions, the State Governments were advised to issue appropriate orders to allow only essential services to operate in the 75 districts which have reported confirmed cases or casualties relating to COVID 19. The State Governments may expand the list depending on their assessment of the situation. It was noted that several State Governments have already issued orders in this regard,” the press release further added.
Earlier Indian Railways decided to stop passenger services, effectively stopping around 12,500 trains.
Around 9,000 goods trains are run by the national transporter each day.
