Northeast Frontier Railway cancels all local passenger trains ahead of Janata Curfew

The Northeast Frontier Railway on Saturday cancelled all local passenger train services from the midnight of March 21 till 2200 hours on March 22, ahead of 'Janata Curfew' which has to be observed in view of rapid-spreading coronavirus outbreak.

"All local passenger trains originating between midnight of March 21st-22nd to 2200 hours on 22nd March will remain cancelled," Suhanan Chanda, Chief Public Relation Officers (CPRO), Northeast Frontier Railway, Maligaon, said in a statement.

"All long-distance mail express and intercity trains originating between 04:00 hours and 22:00 hours on 22nd March will also remain cancelled," the statement read.

During the Janata Curfew, people are requested to avoid public spaces and stay home for 14 hours in view of the novel coronavirus outbreak, which has affected over 169 countries across the world.

People working in essential services such as police, medical services, media, home delivery, fire fighting and serving the nation, etc., will not need to take part in the curfew.

Meanwhile, as part of measures to prevent the further spread of the killer bug that has already infected 283 people across the country, the East Coast Railway (ECoR) has also cancelled 72 mail and express trains, most of which were to run on Sunday.

The Western Railway has also cancelled six trains as a precautionary measure to prevent the spread of coronavirus.

South-Western Railway has hiked the cost of platform tickets from Rs 10 to Rs 50 till March 31, 2020, to stop overcrowding on railway platforms to contain the spread of the contagious disease.

Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation (IRCTC) on Friday announced to close its food plazas, refreshment rooms, Jan Aahars and cell kitchens as a precautionary measure to prevent the spread of COVID-19 from Sunday.