Trains now running at 69% of pre-Covid levels: Railway Board Chairman

This inching up of rail utilisation is due to rising demand with many passengers going back to their home towns to avoid extended lockdowns because of the resurgent pandemic

The Indian Railways is now running trains at 69 per cent of its pre-Covid-19 capacity. This inching up of rail utilisation is on back of rising demand with many passengers going back to their home towns to avoid extended lockdowns because of the resurgent Covid-19 pandemic.

A Rail Ministry presentation said 140 additional trains for destinations having high demand like Gorakhpur, Patna, Darbhanga, Varanasi, Guwahati, Manduadih, Barauni, Prayagraj, Bokaro, Ranchi, Lucknow, Kolkata, and Bhagalpur are being operated.

In all, 7824 trains are running on an average per day. The pre-Covid average was 11283. The maximum restoration is in the running