Booking on IRCTC to begin from May 21 as 200 passenger non AC trains restart from 1st June.

Indian Railways are all set to restart operations of 200 passenger trains from 1st June as so as to restore some normalcy during the pandemic. Union Minister Piyush Goyal tweeted that E-ticketing for the trains will start from May 21, 10 am. The Railways also cleared the air by stating all other regular passengers services, mail/express, passenger and suburban services shall remain closed until further notice. 

These trains are in addition to Shramik Special Trains operating since May 1st to ferry the migrant workers of our nation and special AC trains (30 trains) in operation from 12th May. Piyush Goyal tweeted, "Railways has decided to further restore passenger train services from 1st June for transporting people across India. Taking strict precautionary measures, 200 more trains will commence. E-ticket booking for these trains will begin on 21st May at 10 am. " 

The Railway Ministry laid out some guidelines as follows:

- Only confirmed ticket passengers will be allowed to enter the Railway station.

- General Coaches will also be open to reservations and the normal fare of a second sitting will be applied on the general coach reservation. Sleeper class tickets will be charged normally.

- The advance reservation period (ARP) shall be a maximum 30 days.

- 11 categories of patient concessions and four categories of Divyangjan concessions to be permitted in these trains.

- Only passengers who are healthy & without any symptoms will be allowed to board the train; all passengers will be screened and checked thoroughly before entering the station.

- No blankets or curtains shall be provided inside the train.

- Upon their arrival, the passengers will have to adhere to health protocols as prescribed by the destination state or UT.

Restoring normalcy on the railway stations, food stalls and canteens were permitted to re-open by the Railways Ministry.