National: The Ministry of Railways issued a notice on August 11. The notice clarified the ongoing suspension of services of passenger trains. The notice by the Railway Ministry stated:
“This is to brought to the notice of all concerned that, as decided and informed earlier on as well, regular passenger and suburban train services will continue to remain suspended till further notice.”
The 230 Special Trains, which are running at present, will continue to operate. Local trains in Mumbai will continue to provide services. The local trains are presently being run on a limited basis. The trains will provide service only on the requisition of state government.
The Ministry of Railways further said that the occupancy of special trains is being monitored on a regular basis. Additional special trains may run based on the requirement. However, all other regular trains and suburban trains will remain suspended for the time being.
Earlier, Indian Railways had suspended all services till August 12. With the suspension of passenger trains indefinitely the national transporter is suffering heavy loss. Indian Railways has estimated a loss of around Rs 40,000 Crore in its passenger business. The Indian Railways decided to extend the suspension due to the rapid increase in Covid-19 cases.
According to official reports by the Health Ministry, 15,83,489 people have recovered while active cases stand at 6,39,929.
The Indian Railways on August 10 declared that no new circular was issued on the suspension of train services until September 30.
Meanwhile, Indian Railways said that it may post a revenue loss of Rs 30,000-35,000 crore. This revenue loss is from the passenger train segment in Fiscal Year 21. The Railways may record just 10-15 percent of the passenger segment revenue in the ongoing fiscal as against Rs 50,000 crore last year. The Railway Board Chairman Vinod Kumar Yadav gave the information.