Indian Railways has decided to cancel all passenger trains originating on 12:00 am on March 22, the day of Janta Curfew. Suburban services in Mumbai, Delhi, Kolkata, Chennai and Secunderabad will be reduced to minimal levels. The decision has been taken in view of the fact that the demand for rail travel will be vastly reduced during the Janta Curfew, said Ministry of Railways said in a statement on Friday.
“All passenger trains originating between midnight of March 21/22 to 2200 hours of March 22 shall not run. However, the passenger train services already on run at 0700 hours on the day will be allowed to run to the destinations. Divisions should keep a watch and trains which are empty could be short terminated, if required,” Indian Railways said in a statement.
Meanwhile, suburban train services in Mumbai, Delhi, Kolkata, Chennai and Secunderabad shall be reduced to bare minimum levels only to cater to essential travel requirement. Approximately 1,300 long-distance mail, express and intercity trains originating between 4:00 am and 10:00 pm on March 22 will remain cancelled. However, such trains that are running at 7:00 am will be allowed to reach their destinations.
In his address to the nation on Thursday, Prime Minister Narendra Modi urged people to observe “Janata Curfew” on March 22 from 7:00 am to 9:00 pm. Under Janta Curfew, the PM appealed people to stay away from public places and self-isolate themselves in their homes.