Photos: India’s mammoth rail network resumes partial services on May 12

The first passenger train to run in India after the gap of 51 days began its journey from New Delhi for Bilaspur at 4pm on May 12. This resumption of services marked the end of the first such break in the 167-year history of the railways. India’s rail network, beginning a graded exit from suspension, is expected to carry 54,000 passengers to their destinations. This figure is a drop in the ocean compared to the nearly 14,000 passenger trains and 23 million ferried on average every day before the lockdown was imposed on March 25.

Updated on: May 13, 2020 10:29 AM IST

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Passengers wave at a special train from New Delhi to Dibrugarh at the New Delhi Railway Station (NDLS) following the resumption of passenger train services connecting major cities during the ongoing COVID-19 lockdown in New Delhi on May 12. (Manvender Vashisht / PTI)

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Long queues of people seen waiting to enter Patna junction to board a train. In an unprecedented measure, the railways, called the lifeline of the country, had suspended passenger service from March 22 midnight leaving countless people stranded during the coronavirus lockdown. (PTI)

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A volunteer is seen with a banner in Ranchi Junction as they prepare for the arrival of the first train from New Delhi. Three trains chugged out of New Delhi on Tuesday and five others left for the national capital, each carrying around 1,100 passengers who first underwent screening and other safety norms. (Diwakar Prasad / HT Photo)

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People queue to board a train to Delhi after services resumed from Rajendra Nagar Terminal in Patna. Travel has been permitted only via tickets booked on the IRCTC platform for now. By the evening of May 12, 90,331 tickets (PNRs) had been generated and reservations were issued to 1,69,039 passengers for the 30 trains, a railway official told ANI. (Santosh Kumar / HT Photo)

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Passengers leave their bags in a queue, with circles marked for observing social distancing, to reserve their spots to board a train in New Delhi. Passengers were allowed to enter the stations only if they were asymptomatic and cleared thermal screening. They are required to maintain social distancing on board and are given hand sanitizers when they enter and leave. (Manish Swarup / AP)

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People with their luggage walk to board a train that will take them to New Delhi, at the Howrah Junction railway station in Kolkata. Travel comes with additional guidelines. Passengers are encouraged to carry their own food, water and travel light. (Rupak de Chowdhuri / REUTERS)

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A police personnel makes announcements as passengers returning from Vellore to Howrah station look on from inside a compartment. As the Indian railways tries to come back on track in a graded manner, it has issued a timetable for trains to be run between May 12 and May 20. (Samir Jana / HT Photo)

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Passengers with their faces covered play chess in a train to New Delhi from Howrah. For now, the Indian Railways is operating only air-conditioned (AC) coaches in these special trains. (ANI)

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Women commuters inside a coach of the New Delhi-Dibrugarh special train at NDLS in New Delhi. The wearing of face masks has been made mandatory throughout the journeys. The government’s Aarogya Setu mobile application has also been made mandatory for travel on these special train. (Manvender Vashisht / PTI)

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A woman seen inside an AC special train at Mumbai Central railway station. Upon their arrival to their destinations, passengers on these trains will have to abide by the quarantine stipulations prevailing in the states or union territories. (Kunal Patil / PTI)