Southern Railway imposes new travel restrictions for public on Chennai suburban trains

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Guwahati: Trains are seen parked at Guwahati Railway station yard after lockdown in the wake of coronavirus pandemic, in Guwahati, Tuesday, March 24, 2020. Indian Railways has suspended all passenger services until March 31 and only goods trains will run during the period. The suspension includes all suburban train services. (PTI Photo)(PTI24-03-2020_000119B)

With the state government imposing a partial lockdown, Southern Railway announced that members of the public will not be allowed to commute for 15 days in workmen suburban specials effective from Thursday.

The travel restrictions will commence at 4 am on May 6 and will be in force till 4 am on May 20th, said the railways in a statement. So far, the general public has been allowed to travel in suburban trains except during peak hours from 6.30 am to 9.30 am and 4 to 7 pm.

The decision comes after the state government ordered the transport entities to restrict the seating capacity by 50 per cent. The railways said tickets will be issued only to railway staff, essential services staff authorized by the state government such as health, law and order, sanitation workers, municipal corporation workers etc.

Similarly, staff of all central and state government departments and PSUs, staff of Madras High Court judicial bodies and quasi-judicial bodies including lawyers, travel and logistics organization staff including Chennai Port Trust, Kamarajar Port Trust, staff of e-commerce companies on duty, staff of print and electronic media, staff of nationalized, private and co-operative banks and staff of private security agencies will be allowed to travel along with the photo identity card issued by their organizations.

However, women passengers (except essential service staff), students and staff of educational institutions will not be permitted to travel during the 15 days.

Source
New Indian Express
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