First train with 1,177 passengers leaves New Delhi for Bilaspur

By Anand Singh

New Delhi, May 12 (SocialNews.XYZ) Almost 48 days after suspension of all passenger train services amid the coronavirus pandemic, the first special air conditioned train for Bilaspur departed from here at 4 p.m. with 1,177 passengers.

According to Northern Railway officials, the restoration of passenger train services will start in a graded manner. The passenger train services were suspended since March 25.

Passengers had started to arrive at the New Delhi station since morning. Many people walked to the station in the absence of public transport.

Speaking to IANS, Gaurishankar, who lives in the Shahdara area, said he along with his family had walked to the station to catch the train. "I want to go to the Chatarpur district of Madhya Pradesh. But as there is no direct train for Chatarpur, me and my family will be travelling till Jhansi in the New Delhi-Bilaspur special train," he said.

Shahnu Alam, a resident of Bihar, carried a confirmed ticket to travel in the special AC train. "I had come to Delhi for job two months ago. I worked in a factory for 10-15 days. The unit was shut. I had no money. I borrowed from my friend to buy the ticket to return home."

Vaibhav, who was preparing for UPSC examinations, said he was returning to Bilaspur, his hometown. "The money is over. Due to lockdown, my parents can't visit a bank to deposit money in my account. I have no choice, but to return home," he said.

Nazia, a resident of Gopalganj, said due to the lockdown she faced many issues in Delhi. "The children were fed up staying indoors all the time. I am happy to go back home," she said.

The railways made adequate arrangements at the station, keeping in mind the social distancing protocol to combat Covid-19 pandemic.

The thermal screening of all passengers was done before entering the station and they were guided to their coaches. The circle marks were drawn on the platform to follow the social distancing.

The railway premises and platforms were being sanitized at regular intervals to prevent any infection to passengers, said Northern Railway spokesperson Deepak Kumar. Wearing masks was mandatory and passengers were encouraged to carry own blankets, water and food for the trip, he added.

He said AC temperature in the coaches would be kept slightly higher than the usual. The special trains would run at full capacity, he said and added, the railway zones had been instructed to ensure separate entry and exit gates at stations to avoid contact among passengers.

The police had been deployed outside the station to control the crowd of passengers. Many volunteers were also guiding passengers and providing them water, face masks and gloves. The police allowed families with young children in their arms to enter the station first.

According to the railways, during the day two more special trains -- for Bengaluru and Dibrugarh -- will start from the New Delhi station.

Meanwhile, five special trains, in addition to the Shramik specials, will start from other cities for New Delhi.

The railways has issued a time-table for trains to be run between May 12 and May 20. These daily, weekly or bi-weekly trains will run between New Delhi and all major cities of the country -- Dibrugarh, Agartala, Howrah, Patna, Bilaspur, Ranchi, Bhubaneswar, Secunderabad, Bengaluru, Chennai, Thiruvananthapuram, Madgaon, Mumbai Central, Ahmedabad and Jammu Tawi.

Source: IANS