21-day-lockdown: Railway to cancel operation of all trains except freight carriers

Amid the ongoing nationwide lockdown to arrest the spread of deadly coronavirus COVID-19, the Indian Railways on Wednesday announced that no passenger, mail, express or suburban trains will run till the midnight of April 14 except freight trains will continue to operate in order to supply the essential commodities.

A railway ministry release said that it has decided to extend the cancellation of passenger trains in the wake of the growing number of coronavirus cases in the country.

"Ministry of Railways has decided to extend the cancellation of passenger train services on Indian Railways, all mail/express trains (including premium trains), passenger trains, suburban trains and trains of Metro Railway, Kolkata shall be extended till 2400 hours of 14th April 2020," the Railway Ministry release said.

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COVID-19 crisis in India

India has witnessed a massive rise in coronavirus cases as the number of infected individuals surged to 606 with 12 deaths as on Wednesday, March 25, while 42 cases have been recovered and discharged. 

PM Modi announced a 21-day lockdown starting from the midnight of March 25 in the country, keeping in mind the severity of the situation. He also sanctioned Rs 15,000 crore to boost the healthcare system in order to fight the coronavirus pandemic in the country.

The prime minister also chaired the union cabinet meeting on Wednesday to discuss the measure to be taken amid the lockdown. PM Modi also appealed to the citizens to take the pandemic seriously and follow social distancing religiously.

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Social Distancing - The Only Solution 

As the deadly COVID-19 outbreak grips the world, social distancing seems like the only way to arrest the spread of the virus given the lack of vaccines against the novel virus. The prime minister has urged the citizens repeatedly over the last few days not to step out of their homes unless extremely necessary and also not to hoard essential commodities as they will be available throughout the lockdown period.