Demand for trains goes up, no restoration of full services yet

Demand for train services has increased, as around 13 lakh people are using trains to commute every day this month, up from 5 lakh last month, the Indian Railways said on Tuesday.

However, full restoration of services would have to wait as the Covid restrictions are still in place, Railways Board Chairman and CEO Suneet Sharma Sharma said.

“Train services will continue to be provided as per demand. We are ready to normalise operations but a timeline cannot be given because of the situation,” he said.

Currently, 889 Special Mail Express trains are running on an average every day along with 2,891 suburban services. In addition, 26 special trains are being run as clones of highly patronized trains and 479 passenger services are in operation.