The Railways have seen a decline of Rs 454 crore in its earnings over the last week as at least 184 trains have been cancelled in the wake of the coronavirus (Covid-19) outbreak.
According to the ministry of railways’ data, the national transport saw a decline of 6.9 million passengers (in reserved category) compared to the same period last year, a decline of nearly 45% over the last seven days.
On Wednesday, 99 trains were cancelled due to low occupancy amid the coronavirus outbreak, taking the total number of cancelled trains to 184.
The national carrier on Tuesday announced the cancellations of 85 trains across several major routes in a move aimed at curbing crowds and containing traffic due to the coronavirus pandemic. The Railways have faced high cancellation among passengers mainly along Western and Central lines.
The Railways have seen an 80% jump in cancellation compared to the same period last year, according to a statement issued by the ministry on Wednesday.
In a presentation made on the impact of coronavirus on railways to a Parliamentary panel, the Railway Board, the apex body of the ministry of railways, informed that the national carrier has faced 63% cancellation thus far due to the outbreak. The panel also slammed Railway Board chairman Vinod Kumar Yadav for making a “shoddy presentation without slides.” Officials aware of the development said the Chairman was also told the railways have access to Rs 60,000 crore in LIC public funds.
In a review meeting taken by the minister of railways, a slew of measures were announced for preventing the spread of the disease, including setting up of a six member ‘COVID-19 rapid response team’ comprising six Executive Directors from Railway Board to coordinate with all railway zones.
“This Team will coordinate all COVID-19 preparedness activities. One nodal officer from each zone will serve as point of contact for all COVID-19 preparedness measures and will be in constant touch with the COVID-19 Response team of Railway Board,” the ministry said yesterday.
The ministry will also set up quarantine facilities all over the Railway network for any eventuality, the statement said.
The Indian Railways have also created an online dashboard for coordination with all zonal railways and live monitoring of their progress.
Advisories shall also be issued to passengers to avoid non-essential train journeys and to ensure that they do not have fever while travelling.
The railways have also decided to increase the price of platform tickets from Rs 10 up to Rs 50 in selected major stations across most railway zones in a bid to ensure ‘crowd control’.
“The minister also informed that instructions have been given to all stakeholders to avoid unnecessary crowding at Railway Stations in wake of the spread of COVID 19. It has been advised that the DRMs may review the situation at railway stations and raise the price of Platform Ticket to Rs 50 wherever deemed necessary, to avoid overcrowding at stations,” the statement said.
The Railways have also set up clinics across stations for providing cost-effective access to healthcare.
