Coronavirus: Central Railways suspends 22 trains till March 31 due to low occupancy

• Several trains which connect Mumbai-Pune will not be operative from March 18 till March 31.
  
• The frequency of Rajdhani trains will also be reduced to two times a week.
  
• As a preventive measure against novel coronavirus, the Indian Railways also increased prices of platform tickets from ₹10 to ₹50 for 250 stations.

Central Railways cancelled 22 trains till March 31 due to low occupancy of passengers, amid the coronavirus outbreak.

The occupancy of cancelled trains fell drastically even in high traffic sectors like Mumbai-Pune, according to the statement released by the Railways. It also includes Rajdhani trains which connect Delhi to major cities.


The statement said the decision came after consultation with the concerned local division.

Deccan Express which connects Mumbai- Pune-Mumbai will not be operative from March 18 to March 31. The Ajni Express from Mumbai-Nagpur, which had a per trip occupancy of 12 people will also be non-operative till March 30.

The frequency of Rajdhani trains from Mumbai will also be reduced from four to two days a week. The Rajdhani train from Mumbai had the highest occupancy per trip in a year, is running empty and people chose to avoid non-essential travel.

Railways increased prices of platform tickets

As a preventive measure against novel coronavirus, the Indian Railways also increased prices of platform tickets from ₹10 to ₹50 for 250 stations in the country to minimise the footfalls at the stations.

"The increase in the platform ticket prices is a temporary measure to contain extra load of people in the railway premises,"a Railway official said.

The global epidemic has so far infected 140 people in India, including 13 cured of the disease and three who lost their lives, according to the latest data available on the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare website.

SEE ALSO: coronavirus: Latest News, Articles on coronavirus | Business Insider India
The impact of coronavirus carnage on Radhakishan Damani’s portfolio