Indian Railways, which cancelled operations of passenger trains till May 3 due to the coronavirus-driven lockdown, has decided to stop taking ticket bookings for travel even beyond May 3.

BusinessLine reported on April 13 that the Railways was unlikely to operate passenger trains beyond April 14, which was when the lockdown was supposed to end.

“In continuation of the measures taken in the wake of Covid-19 lockdown, it has been decided that all passenger train services on Indian Railways including premium trains, mail/express trains, passenger trains, suburban trains, etc., shall continue to remain cancelled till May 3, 2020,” said an official statement.

“No booking of any type of tickets, including e-tickets, shall be done till further advice. However, facility of online cancellation will remain functional for ticket bookings,” added the statement.

Full refund will be given for tickets for the bookings made for the trains cancelled, said the release, adding that full refund will also be made to those cancelling the advance bookings for trains not yet cancelled.

To ensure essential supplies reach various parts of the country, movement of goods and parcel trains will continue.

All ticket-booking counters will remain closed till further orders.

For trains cancelled up to May 3, refunds would be automatically remitted by the Railways online to the customers, while those who have booked across the counters, refunds can be taken up to July 31, 2020.

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