Railways cancels all passenger trains till March 31 amid Covid-19 outbreak

In an unprecedented move, the railways on Sunday cancelled all passenger trains till March 31 in the wake of coronavirus pandemic (Covid-19) in the country. The order kicks in from Sunday (March 22) mid night.

"In continuation of the measures taken in the wake of Covid-19, it's been decided that all passenger trains including premium trains, mail and express trains, passenger trains, suburban trains, Kolkata Metro Rail, Konkan Railway, shall be cancelled till March 31," the ministry of railways release noted.

Minimum suburban services, Kolkata Metro will continue till Mar 22 midnight. Thereafter, the services will stop. Passengers can avail the refund for all cancelled trains till mid June. 

The trains which have commenced their journey before 4:00 p.m. on Sunday will run to the destination. However, to ensure continuity of essential supplies across the country, goods trains are exempted. They will run as per schedule. 

The railways had already trimmed down its services on Friday by cancelling a majority of trains. However, it had allowed all trains that had already started the journey to continue.

India's coronavirus count had soared to 341 on Sunday and the death toll has reached 6. Two men died of the virus in Patna and Mumbai, news agencies reported as millions of Indians voluntarily undertook a 14-hour long curfew on Sunday to limit the fast-spreading epidemic in the country.