The Indian Railways has extended the suspension of its passenger services till May 3, senior officials said on Tuesday. They said the decision was taken after Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced that the lockdown across the country will be extended till May 3 to fight the coronavirus pandemic.
“We have taken the decision keeping in view the extended lockdown period. More updates will be available shortly,” the official said.
Earlier, all passenger services were canceled till April 14 midnight.
Goods and parcel trains will remain in operation to ensure the availability of essential supplies, a top Railways ministry official said.
Train ticket booking counters for reserved or unreserved travel — at railway stations and outside railway station premises — will remain closed till midnight on May 3, he said.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi has announced that the nationwide lockdown to control the spread of coronavirus will remain extended till May 3 as India can’t allow the virus to spread any further.
Detailed guidelines on lockdown will be issued tomorrow and focus would be on providing some relief to the poor class: PM Modi.
The PM said that the lockdown will be super strict till April 20 and all regions will be monitored to check whether the rules are being followed. He said that rules will be eased for areas where the lockdown is implemented properly and fewer new cases are registered till April 20.
Modi thanked the people for following the lockdown and says the sacrifices made by Indians in the last 21 days like disciplined soldiers have helped control the spread of coronavirus in India. He says that India made timely interventions and this has prevented a situation prevalent in many developed countries.
At least seven states — Maharashtra, Odisha, Punjab, West Bengal, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, and Telangana — have already announced the extension of the lockdown till April 30.
Also Read: Lockdown extended till May 3, govt to issue guidelines tomorrow
