New Delhi. Airline companies and railways have begun preparations to start their services in a phased manner after the 21-day lockdown period implemented to stop the spread of the corona virus. While airlines have started booking tickets, railways have started preparations for restoring passenger trains. However, their operation will depend on the decision of the government.
Railways said that no final decision has been taken yet
The Railways issued a statement on Saturday saying that no final decision has been taken yet on restoring the passenger trains, but all its zones have started planning their operations. Railway has issued this statement in view of the video conference on Friday between Railway Minister Piyush Goyal and the Chairman and other officials of the Railway Board. The meeting decided that the passenger train services would be restored in a phased manner. An official said, “Train services will be restored only after getting specific approval from the Railway Board about each train.”
Plan to restore service in all zones of railway
Keeping in mind the availability of rakes, all the 17 zones and divisions of the Railways are planning to identify trains and resume their services from April 15. For example, Ferozepur Division of Northern Railway has planned to restore 23 trains based on the availability of rakes available at Amritsar, Jammu Tawi, Sri Vaishno Devi Katra and Ferozepur railway stations. These include Saharsa Garib Rath Express, New Delhi Express, Banmankhi Janseva Express, Haridwar Express, Katihar Express, Jaynagar Saryu Yamuna Express, Saharsa Weekly Jansadharan Express, Bilaspur Chhattisgarh Express, Darbhanga Jannayak Express, Dehradun Express and Pathankot Ravi Express.
Similarly, the Delhi Division has plans to restore 200 trains. These include Amritsar Shatabdi Express, Sarbat Da Bhala Express, New Delhi-Ranchi Rajdhani Express, Rewa Express and Jammu Rajdhani Express. Sources said that on the resumption of train service, all passengers will be thermal screened and all the protocols suggested by the government will be implemented.
Booking of Air Asia starts after April 15
Meanwhile, the economical airline Air Asia has said that bookings of its flights have been open since April 15, but any changes can be made if aviation regulator DGCA releases new guidelines. Several other airlines have also started booking flights on and after April 15. IndiGo, SpiceJet and GoAir have said that they have started booking their domestic flights from 15 April and onwards. At the same time, Spice Jet and GoAir have also started booking their international flights from May 1 and onwards. The civil aviation secretary Pradeep Singh Kharola said on Thursday that airlines are free to book tickets for any date after April 14.
Air India will operate 18 chartered flights for foreign countries
Air India has activated all its available resources for its chartered flights operated to transport foreigners stranded in India to their countries and to bring important medical cargo from Shanghai to China. Air India plans to operate 18 chartered flights to evacuate German, French, Irish and Canadian nationals trapped in India during the lockdown at the request of their embassies. According to a statement issued by Air India, during this time all the security protocols set by DGCA are being followed.
