All seats on Mumbai-New Delhi Rajdhani trains booked within minutes

The first train will leave Mumbai Central at 5.30 pm on Tuesday. Representation pic

Today, the Mumbai-New Delhi Rajdhani will leave with all seats filled. All seats on the daily trains till May 17 were booked within minutes of IRCTC opening the booking on Monday evening.

The Railways has allowed trains to run with full capacity, without keeping in mind social distancing in the fully air-conditioned coaches for over 15 hours, which could possibly prove to be a health hazard. However, officials said all passengers will have to wear masks and download the Arogya Setu app, and that they will be screened before departure and also on arrival at destinations.

Report 90 minutes in advance
The Rlys has asked passengers to reach the station at least 90 minutes before departure for screening. There will be separate entry and exit gates at the station to avoid face-to-face interaction of passengers. The first train will depart from Mumbai Central at 5.30 pm on Tuesday and reach New Delhi at 9.05 am, with halts at Surat, Vadodara, Ratlam and Kota.

Amid confusion over the timing of ticket booking on Monday, IRCTC opened the e-ticketing system at 6 pm and within minutes, the booking ran into wait list. The Rlys has allowed booking up to seven days in advance.

Passengers have been informed that online ticket cancellation is only permitted up to 24 hours before the departure with a 50 per cent "cancellation charge", and there will be no refund for cancellation within 24 hours of the departure.

The railway officials said no extra charge was added to the train fare, and instead catering fee was not charged from the passengers as the service has been temporarily suspended.

People can, however, purchase food from the pantry. The Rlys charged R4,495 for First AC between Mumbai Central to New Delhi, R2,645 for Second AC and R1,855 for Third AC.

Advisory on travel to stn
"The movement of the passenger(s) as well as the driver ferrying them to and from the railway station shall be allowed on the basis of the confirmed e-ticket. The driver is expected to keep a copy of the e-ticket while returning empty," an official said.

No tatkal
No one with an RAC or waitlist ticket will be allowed. Only confirmed e-tickets shall be booked and booking of RAC/Waiting tickets and on-board booking by ticket checker, current, tatkal and premium tatkal bookings shall not be permitted. No unreserved tickets (UTs) shall be permitted. For now, only online booking through IRCTC website or the mobile app has been allowed.

Other trains that will cross Mumbai borders are New-Delhi-Thiruvananthapuram and New Delhi-Madgaon Rajdhani special trains that will halt at Panvel.

Carry your own food
Passengers have been told to carry their own food and drinking water. Paid dry, ready-to-eat food and bottled water will be provided during the journey, on demand.

No linen
The IR won't provide any linen, blankets, and curtains in the trains will be removed. Passengers are advised to carry their own linen. Also, no stalls or booths or vendors on the platforms will be allowed to open. Passengers have been advised to travel light.

Allow local trains: CM

Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray on Monday asked Prime Minister Narendra Modi to run suburban trains in Mumbai to ferry employees working for essential services. He also sought extra security to offer much-needed relief to the tired state police personnel. He also urged the PM and CMs in the review meeting to work towards preventing infection with the travel of migrant workers. "The workers are reaching home. The infection will spread across the country if we don't take proper care," he said, demanding a concrete lockdown exit plan "They say May would see the pandemic peaking and the peak may extend to June and July. Please be careful about the second wave of infection that cities like Wuhan are facing now. We need to plan a lockdown exit with utmost care," Thackeray said.

The DOs of travel

. All passengers shall wear face masks at the entry and during travel
. Only asymptomatic passengers will be allowed to travel
. They must observe social distancing both at the station and on trains
. They must adhere to health protocols at their respective destination

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