Indian Railways on Tuesday cancelled bookings up to April 30 for three privately operated trains amid the uncertainty over the extension of the 21-day country-wide COVID-19 lockdown that ends on April 14 midnight.
According to reports, the railways cancelled bookings for Tejas Express between Ahmedabad-Mumbai and Delhi-Lucknow along with the Kashi Mahakal Express that runs from Varanasi to Indore.
Passengers will be given a full refund, authorities informed.
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Fresh bookings for these three trains will also remain suspended till April 30, said the IRCTC spokesperson.
The decision came despite indications that the railways may have begun preparing plans to resume passenger and mail express train services post the lockdown.
However, the Rail Ministry has denied such reports.
In a tweet on Saturday last, the ministry had stated: “Certain media reports have come on a post lockdown restoration plan with train details, frequency etc. It is to clarify that no such plan regarding the resumption of passenger services has been issued. All concerned would be duly informed about any further decision in this regard.”
Indian Railways had earlier cancelled all bookings made for the period of lockdown and offered passengers full refunds.
It, however, had clarified that bookings made for travel after the lockdown period were not affected.