Dibrugarh:
Earlier today, the Assam bound Rajdhani Express from New Delhi made its final halt at the Dibrugarh Railway Station in Upper Assam at 7:30 am today and 261 passengers got down at the station after a long journey.
Out of the 261 passengers who got down at the station, 74 were from Dibrugarh, 19 from Lakhimpur, 97 from Tinsukia, 28 from Dhemaji, 21 from Charaideo, 5 from Sivasagar as 4 from Biswanath district. 13 of the passengers who deboarded were from neighbouring Arunachal Pradesh.
Earlier in the day, the train halted in Lumding where 44 passengers hailing from different regions got down. Of those who got down, 16 hailed from Lumding, 8 from Hojai, 6 from Karbi Anglong, 7 from Dima Hasao, 5 from Biswanath, and 1 from Murajjhar in Morigain district.
It needs mention here that the Dima Hasao, Biswanath, and Karbi Anglong residents were taken back to their home districts after screening. All the returnees have been quarantined as a precautionary measure, said reports.
It may be mentioned here that the train that began its journey on May 12 made only five stoppages in the state - Kokrajhar, Guwahati, Lumding, Mariani and Dibrugarh.
On the Resumption of Train Services in India:
The Railway Ministry in a statement said that the national transporter in consultation with the Ministry of Health and Family welfare (MoHFW) and the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) has decided that train services shall be partially restored from May 12 in a graded manner.
"These special trains which are being started presently, will have only air conditioned classes — First, Second and Third tier AC. The fare structure for the special trains shall be applicable for the regular time table as Rajdhani trains, excluding catering charges," it said.
The ministry said that only online e-ticketing will be done through the IRCTC website or through Mobile App. "No tickets will be booked across the reservation counter on any railway station. Booking of tickets through agents', both IRCTC agents and railway agents shall not be permitted," it said, adding that the maximum advance reservation period (ARP) will be of seven days.