100% refund for all cancelled tickets till April 15: Indian Railways

New Delhi : Indian Railways on Saturday announced that it will be giving 100% refund to the passengers who cancel their tickets till April 15, a step to avoid crowding in public places and aid social distancing as the number of Sars-Cov-2 cases in India stood at 258.

The total amount will be refunded if trains are cancelled between March 21 and April 15 this year and those who do not wish to travel on operational trains also to get their money back.

"Indian Railways relaxes refund rules for PRS (Passenger Reservation System) counter generated tickets. All rules for e-ticket remain same as the passenger does not need to come to the station for a refund of the ticket," the transporter said in an advisory on Saturday.

In another announcement, the Indian Railways announced that no passenger train will operate from midnight on Saturday to 10pm on Sunday, when India will observe Janta curfew. 

Mail and express trains will also stop services from 4am on Sunday, the transporter has said. All intercity trains will also remain cancelled till 10pm on Sunday.

All suburban train services in Mumbai, Delhi, Kolkata, Chennai and Secunderabad will be reduced to a bare minimum as well.

The national transporter has also issued a set of guidelines to zonal headquarters for its catering staff, stating no employee having fever, cough, runny nose or difficulty in breathing “should be deployed in the business of food handling on the Indian Railways”.