The Indian Railway has canceled more than 80 trains amid coronavirus outbreak. The announcement has been made on Tuesday (16/03/2020). The move will come into force from March 18 to April 1. 

The reason for the cancellation of these trains is the low occupancy in different zones across India. A senior Railway Ministry official said the decision to cancel the trains was taken in view of the low occupancy amid the coronavirus outbreak in several states.

Even, Platform ticket price hiked temporarily from ₹10 to ₹50 to discourage large gatherings.

As per the Railway officials data- The Central Railway canceled 23 trains, followed by South Central Railway canceling 29 trains, Western Railways canceling 10 trains, northern Railways five, North Western Railways four, East Coast Railways five and South Eastern Railways canceling nine trains from March 18 to April 1.

“Across Indian Railways, the cancellation percentage has gone up by about 80%,” a press statement from the East Coast Railway (ECoR) said, adding the zone itself has seen the cancellation of more than one lakh tickets in the last six days, which is 67% higher than cancellation during the same period last year. Even more train could be canceled. ”if required’.

Minister of Railways Piyush Goyal on Tuesday held a meeting to review the progress of the preparedness and the efforts to prevent the spread, a railways official said.

The railways even increased the prices of the platform tickets at over 250 stations from ₹10 to ₹50 to stop the crowding at the railway stations,” as per the statement.

 In order to regulate unnecessary crowding at stations, as a temporary measure is a primary reason for the platform ticket price hike.

The prices of platform tickets also have been increased at New Delhi railway station to ₹50.

The official said the Western Railway has increased the platform ticket fare to ₹50 for railway stations of Mumbai, Vadodra, Ahmedabad, Ratlam, Rajkot and Bhavnagar. “The increase in the platform ticket prices is a temporary measure to contain an extra load of people in the railway premises”, he said.

The Central Railway increased the prices of the platform tickets at over 174 stations, while the East Central Railway increased the prices of platform tickets at 10 stations in Bihar.

The railways had delegated power to Divisional Railway Managers (DRMS) to increase the rate of platform tickets beyond ₹10 to regulate rush at platforms during specific requirements under intimation of its office.

 In the meeting (held by the Railway Minister- Piyush Goyal), It was decided that a COVID response team would be constituted, which comprising the Executive Directors from the Railway Board. It will have six members and will coordinate all preparedness activities. “They will monitor progress through an online dashboard and other forums, resolve issues of railway zones/PUs, issue advisories and media briefs and prepare a position for review meetings at various forums,” an official added.