All seats on Mumbai-New Delhi Rajdhani trains booked within minutes

Today the MumbaiNew Delhi Rajdhani will leave with all seats filled All seats on the daily trains till May 17 were booked within minutes of IRCTC opening the booking on Monday eveningThe Railways has allowed trains to run with full capacity without keeping in mind social distancing in the fully airconditioned coaches for over 15 hours which could possibly prove to be a health hazard However officials said all passengers will have to wear masks and download the Arogya Setu app and that they will be screened before departure and also on arrival at destinationsReport 90 minutes in advanceThe Rlys has asked passengers to reach the station at least 90 minutes before departure for screening There will be separate entry and exit gates at the station to avoid facetoface interaction of passengers The first train will depart from Mumbai Central at 530 pm on Tuesday and reach New Delhi at 905 am with halts at Surat Vadodara Ratlam and KotaAmid confusion over the timing of ticket booking on Monday IRCTC opened the eticketing system at 6 pm and within minutes the booking ran into wait list The Rlys has allowed booking up to seven days in advancePassengers have been informed that online ticket cancellation is only permitted up to 24 hours before the departure with a 50 per cent cancellation charge and there will be no refund for cancellation within 24 hours of the departureThe railway officials said no extra charge was added to the train fare and instead catering fee was not charged from the passengers as the service has been temporarily suspendedPeople can however purchase food from the pantry The Rlys charged R4495 for First AC between Mumbai Central to New Delhi R2645 for Second AC and R1855 for Third ACAdvisory on travel to stnThe movement of the passengers as well as the driver ferrying them to and from the railway station shall be allowed on the basis of the confirmed eticket The driver is expected to keep a copy of the eticket while returning empty an official saidNo tatkalNo one with an RAC or waitlist ticket will be allowed Only confirmed etickets shall be booked and booking of RACWaiting tickets and onboard booking by ticket checker current tatkal and premium tatkal bookings shall not be permitted No unreserved tickets UTs shall be permitted For now only online booking through IRCTC website or the mobile app has been allowedOther trains that will cross Mumbai borders are NewDelhiThiruvananthapuram and New DelhiMadgaon Rajdhani special trains that will halt at PanvelCarry your own foodPassengers have been told to carry their own food and drinking water Paid dry readytoeat food and bottled water will be provided during the journey on demandNo linenThe IR wont provide any linen blankets and curtains in the trains will be removed Passengers are advised to carry their own linen Also no stalls or booths or vendors on the platforms will be allowed to open Passengers have been advised to travel lightAllow local trains CMChief Minister Uddhav Thackeray on Monday asked Prime Minister Narendra Modi to run suburban trains in Mumbai to ferry employees working for essential services He also sought extra security to offer muchneeded relief to the tired state police personnel He also urged the PM and CMs in the review meeting to work towards preventing infection with the travel of migrant workers The workers are reaching home The infection will spread across the country if we dont take proper care he said demanding a concrete lockdown exit plan They say May would see the pandemic peaking and the peak may extend to June and July Please be careful about the second wave of infection that cities like Wuhan are facing now We need to plan a lockdown exit with utmost care Thackeray saidThe DOs of travel All passengers shall wear face masks at the entry and during travel Only asymptomatic passengers will be allowed to travel They must observe social distancing both at the station and on trains They must adhere to health protocols at their respective destinationCatch up on all the latest Mumbai news crime news current affairs and a complete guide from food to things to do and events across Mumbai Also download the new midday Android and iOS apps to get latest updates MidDay is now on Telegram Click here to join our channel middayinfomedialtd and stay updated with the latest news