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Covid-19: Central Railway cancels 23 trains
Retiring rooms as well as dormitories on Miraj and Kolhapur stations have been closed to public until further notice
The Central Railway (CR) on Tuesday announced cancellation of 23 trains, for varying periods, saying that the step was taken to contain the spread of coronavirus (Covid-19) and also due to non-occupancy of trains.
The list includes trains originating from Pune, Mumbai and Nagpur like the Deccan Express (11007 Mumbai-Pune; 11008 Pune-Mumbai), Nandigram Express and Pragati Express (12125 Mumbai-Pune; 12126 Pune-Mumbai) from Wednesday till April 1, a CR release said.
Mumbai-Pune 11007 Deccan Express will not run from March 19 to March 31 and Pune-Mumbai 11008 Deccan Express will stop operations between March 18 and March 30. Mumbai-Pune Pragati Express will halt its run from March 18 to March 31 and Pune-Mumbai Pragati Express will not run from March 19 April 1. While Pune-Nagpur Express will stop operations from March 26 to April 2; Nagpur-Pune Express will not run from March 20 to March 27. Pune-Ajni Express will not run on March 21 and 28 and Ajni-Pune Express will stop operations on March 22 and 29.
Besides this, retiring rooms as well as dormitories on Miraj and Kolhapur stations have been closed to public until further notice.
To regulate crowd, Pune platform tickets see Rs 40 price hike
In a bid to discourage gathering of large crowds in view of the coronavirus, the Pune division of the Central Railway has hiked the platform ticket charges from Rs 10 to Rs 50, officials said on Tuesday.
“#COVID19 preventive measures. Central Railway on its Mumbai, Pune, Bhusaval, and Solapur divisions increased the platform ticket from Rs 10 to Rs 50 till further advice,” tweeted Central Railway.
Asserting that platform tickets charges have been increased at number of stations to ensure crowd control in view of the coronavirus problem, a senior official said,”it is being done at the local level”.
In March 2015, the railways delegated the power to Divisional Railway Managers (DRMs) to increase the rate of platform tickets beyond Rs 10 to regulate rush at platforms in specific conditions.
The government has already taken a number of steps to detect and prevent the spread of coronavirus, which is showing an upward trend in the country and has claimed three lives so far.
Covid-19 Pune impact: No curtains, blankets for AC coaches for now
Following the directives from the government, all the passenger trains with air conditioned sleeper first and second classes will now run without curtains and blankets as a precautionary measure to curtail the spreading of the COVID-19, until further notice, said officials.
The railway official at Pune junction, Pune division central railway, said, “Fresh bedsheets will still be provided and the air conditioner’s temperature will be set between 24 and 25 degrees within the compartment.”
The official added that people manning the ticket counters have been given masks and all the platforms as well as the trains have been cleaned using disinfectant, twice. Porters have also been informed to take care of their personal hygiene and have also been advised to wear masks, the official added.
The quick service restaurants at the station are also following protocol by providing hand sanitisers and making servers wear masks. Posters and pamphlets regarding coronavirus have been prominently displayed across the platforms for awareness of the general public.
The Central Railway is also cleaning the coach fittings such as grab handles, door handles, door latches, entry door handles, seat guard, snack trays, window glass, window grill, bottle holders, upper berth climbing stair that are frequently used and touched by passengers, added the official.
