The New Delhi station on Tuesday became the focal point for the railways that resumed passenger services with the departure of three trains from the national capital carrying 3,461 passengers on board, over 50 days after they were suspended due to the coronavirus-induced lockdown.
Five other trains bound for New Delhi left from Patna, Bengaluru, Howrah, Mumbai and Ahmedabad on Tuesday, the railways said.
On Wednesday, five trains will arrive at the New Delhi station carrying around 4,000 passengers, officials said.
The last of the special trains on Tuesday departed from New Delhi for Bengaluru at 9.15 pm.
The New Delhi railway station, in the heart of the city, saw the departure of three special trains for Bilaspur in Chhattisgarh, Dibrugarh in Assam and Bengaluru in Karnataka.
While the railways made it mandatory for passengers to install the Aarogya Setu app, sources said that many passengers who did not have the app downloaded on their phones were allowed to board the three trains departing from Delhi since they were asymptomatic.
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A total of 1,177 passengers were booked on the New Delhi-Bilaspur special train which departed at 4 pm, while 1,122 passengers were booked on the New Delhi-Dibrugarh special train that departed at 4:45 pm.
A total of 1,162 passengers were booked on the New Delhi-Bengaluru special train, which left at 9:15 pm.
A total of 741 PNRs were generated for the 1,177 passengers travelling in the New Delhi-Bilaspur special train, 442 PNRs generated for the 1,122 passengers travelling in the New Delhi-Dibrugarh special train, while a total of 804 PNRs were generated for the 1,162 passengers travelling on the New Delhi-Bengaluru special train.
The railways regulated passengers even before their entry into the station. The passengers were asked if they had downloaded the Aarogya Setu app and most of them answered in the affirmative, the officials said.
Passengers who boarded the Bilaspur-bound train sanitised their hands at the entry gates, wore masks and carried minimal baggage as advised by the railways.
As they entered the station, the officials guided them to their designated coaches resulting in minimal crowd at platforms.
Railway Board Chairman V K Yadav was also present at the station.
The Northern Railways said in a statement that entry to the New Delhi railway station will be allowed only from the Paharganj side for all confirmed ticket holders and no entry for passengers will be permitted from the Ajmeri Gate side.
For now, the railways has issued a timetable for trains to be run between May 12 and May 20. These trains will have only AC classes, i.e., first, second and third AC.
The fare structure will be as applicable for the Rajdhani trains (excluding catering charges).
On May 13, eight trains will depart from the national capital for Howrah, Rajendra Nagar, Jammu Tawi, Thiruvananthapuram, Chennai, Ranchi, Mumbai Central and Ahmedabad. Another train will leave Bhubaneswar for New Delhi.
On May 14, the only train leaving the New Delhi railway station will head to Bhubaneswar, while one train each will leave Dibrugarh, Jammu Tawi, Bilaspur and Ranchi for the national capital.
On May 15, one train each will leave Thiruvananthapuram and Chennai Central for New Delhi while one bound for Madgaon will depart from New Delhi.
As per the timetable, no train is scheduled on May 16 and May 19.
Passenger services from Madgaon to New Delhi and New Delhi to Secunderabad will resume on May 17.
The only train scheduled on May 18 is from Agartala to New Delhi, while two trains scheduled on May 20 are from New Delhi to Agartala and Secunderabad to New Delhi.
The officials said as per the guidelines e-tickets issued by the Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation (IRCTC) will work as an e-pass for the movement of drivers to and from the station to pick or drop passengers.
Bookings will be available only on the IRCTC's website (www.irctc.co.in) for general quota passengers, while bare minimum reservation counters will be open on the routes of these special train for MPs and freedom fighters among others.
Ticket fare concessions can only be availed by patients, students and people with disabilities while no concessions for senior citizens are applicable.
The railways has also earmarked reservation quota of two berths in 3AC for Divyangjans and two berths in 1AC and four berths in 2AC for sitting and former parliamentarians.
On arrival at the destination, passengers will have to adhere to health protocols prescribed by the destination state/union territory, they said.
Under normal circumstances, the New Delhi railway station is one of the busiest stations in the country. A total of 351 trains arrive/depart from this station daily with a footfall of more than 5.20 lakh passengers each day.