Railway Issues Order To Stop Operations of Special Trains, Restore Pre-Covid Fares

The Ministry of Indian Railways on Friday issued an order to halt the operation of ‘special trains’ for mail and express trains and revert to pre-pandemic ticket prices with immediate effect.

the Railway Board said in a letter to the principal chief commercial managers;

“Ministry of Railways have decided that all the regular timetabled trains which are presently operating as MSPC (mail/express special) & HSP (holiday special) train services, included in the working time table,2021, shall be operated with regular numbers and with fare and categorizations applicable.”

The Railway Board further said, “On already booked tickets in advance, no difference of fare either to be collected by Railways or any refund due to already booked passengers shall be permitted.”

It must be noted that the Indian Railways has been operating special trains with full reservation across the country ever since the coronavirus pandemic wreaked the nation.

In the letter to zonal railways, the Railway on Friday said trains will now be operated with their regular numbers and fares will revert to normal pre-Covid prices. 

All the regular time tabled trains which are presently operating as MSPC ( Mail/Express Spl) and HSP (Holiday Spl) train services, including in the working Time Table 2021, shall be operated with regular numbers and with fare and categorization as applicable

Ministry of Railways

“The zonal railways have been instructed. While the order is with immediate effect, the process will take a day or two,” a senior official said told PTI.

“With this, more than 1,700 trains will be restored in the next few days. The first digit will now not be zero as was in the case of special trains,” another official said.

Also Read: Indian Railways To Halt Operations of Special Trains, Restore Normal Fares Soon: Ashwini Vaishnaw