Aarogya Setu to cancellation charges: Things to keep in mind while travelling on IRCTC special trains

Indian Railways is gradually restarting passenger train operations from Tuesday initially with 15 pairs of trains and the first one will start from New Delhi.

These trains will be run as special trains from New Delhi station connecting 15 important cities of the country—Dibrugarh, Agartala, Howrah, Patna, Bilaspur, Ranchi, Bhubaneswar, Secunderabad, Bengaluru, Chennai, Trivandrum, Madgaon, Mumbai Central, Ahmedabad and Jammu Tawi.

Booking for reservation on these trains started on Monday and will be available only on IRCTC website and mobile application. Booking of tickets through ‘agents’, both IRCTC and Indian Railways, shall not be allowed.

There is no provision of tatkal and premium tatkal accommodation and no current booking shall be allowed either. The fare will be equivalent to the ticket fare that is charged for Rajdhani train.

Here’s what you need to keep in mind before travelling:

* All passengers will have to mandatorily download and use the Aarogya Setu mobile application.

* Travel light as no porters will be available at stations.

* Passengers will have to reach the station at least 90 minutes in advance to facilitate thermal screening.

* They will have to wear masks and maintain social distancing.

* Passengers won’t need a pass to reach the stations, will only need to carry tickets

* For the movement of the passenger as well as the driver of the vehicle transporting them to and fro the railway station shall be allowed on the basis of the confirmed e-ticket.

* No linen, blankets and curtains shall be provided inside the train.

* Passengers are encouraged to carry their own food and drinking water as provision for pre-paid meal booking, e-catering has been disabled. Dry, ready-to-eat food and bottled water shall be provided on demand, inside the trains on payment basis. No catering charges shall be included in the fare.

* The Maximum Advance Reservation Period (ARP) will be of maximum seven days.

* Online cancellation shall be permitted up to 24 hours before the scheduled departure of the train. No cancellation permitted less than 24 hrs before the departure of the train. Cancellation charge shall be 50% of the fare.