IRCTC is planning to resume services for several cities in a phased manner after being under lockdown for a long time. According to the official statement, passenger trains will run from Delhi to 15 Indian cities across the country from May 12, which is five days before the end of the national lockdown. Further, in the coming weeks, the services will resume for other cities too.

According to the Railway’s statement, "These trains will be run as special trains from New Delhi station connecting Dibrugarh, Agartala, Howrah, Patna, Bilaspur, Ranchi, Bhubaneswar, Secunderabad, Bengaluru, Chennai, Thiruvananthapuram, Madgaon, Mumbai Central, Ahmedabad, and Jammu Tawi".

The news was further confirmed after Railways Minister Piyush Goyal tweeted, "Railways plans to gradually restart passenger train operations from May 12, 2020, initially with 15 pairs of special trains connecting New Delhi with major stations across India. Booking in these trains will start at 4 pm on May 11".

Railways plans to gradually restart passenger train operations from 12th May, 2020, initially with 15 pairs of special trains connecting New Delhi with major stations across India. Booking in these trains will start at 4 pm on 11th May.https://t.co/DW9I1sPRx6

— Piyush Goyal (@PiyushGoyal) May 10, 2020

When can you book tickets?

Ticket bookings for the same will start from May 11 from 4 PM in the afternoon. People can book tickets via the IRCTC website or mobile app. However, travel agents (whether IRCTC or Railways) are not allowed to book tickets; ticket counters at all stations will also remain closed, including the platform ticket counters.

New rules travellers must be aware of

1) Only people with confirmed and valid tickets will be allowed to enter the New Delhi Railway Station.
2) The railways has also asked all passengers to wear face masks.
3) Only asymptomatic passengers would be allowed to travel, after screening at departure.
4) Maintaining social distance is a must all the time.
5) As per new rule, the trains will only have AC coaches with limited stoppage.
6) The fares of these trains will be similar to Rajdhani Express.
7) Also, there is no provision of tatkal or premium tatkal tickets.
8) Passengers won’t be given blankets and linen to reduce the chances of virus spread.
9) The pantry services will not be available on the trains.

All passenger services trains were suspended since the lockdown began on March 25. Amid this, railways started train services only for labourers and students stuck in different cities so that they could reach their homes safely. The government is also planning 1500 more Shramik Special trains to take migrant workers home in coming weeks.