COVID-19: Planning to travel by train? Here are guidelines issued by some states

If you are planning a journey through railways, it is important to know the new coronavirus guidelines issued by the Ministry of Railways. The Government of India has already urged people not to venture out of their homes to ‘Break the Chain’ of COVID-19 but if you need to travel urgently, read these instructions before stepping out of your home.

1. It is compulsory for all passengers to wear masks. Anybody found not wearing it will be fined Rs 500. It is important for the passengers to carry hand sanitisers
2. Anyone found to be spitting in the Railways premises will be fined Rs 500
3. No cooked food service will be available on the trains. However, Ready to Eat meals will be available
4. Passengers can buy protective items like sanitisers, gloves, masks, bedroll kits, etc through various Multi-purpose stalls at the station

Maharashtra

1. All government personnel including the State, Central, and Local will be issued train passes on the basis of their Government identity card
2. Train passes will be given to all medical personnel including lab technicians
3. For long-distance trains, passengers alighting at any station will be stamped on the hand for 14 days home quarantine.
4. Additional thermal screening at all Railway station including the local trains
5. Train tickets will only be issued at ticket counters and booking centres like Automatic Ticket Vending Machines, Jan Sadharan Ticket Booking Seva and UTS will remain suspended.
6. People travelling from outstation trains will not be allowed to travel in local trains

DelhiAnybody travelling from Maharashtra to Delhi needs to have a COVID-19 negative report. Every passenger needs to home quarantine for 14 daysKarnatakaPassengers travelling from Maharashtra, Punjab, Chandigarh and Kerala need to carry an RT-PCR report done within 72 hours of travelling. All international travellers need to carry their test report before boarding the plane. Such passengers need to quarantine themselves at home for 14 days.KeralaAll passengers need to carry the RT-PCR report. Travellers can opt for tests at the Railways stations. 14 days home quarantine is compulsory for such people.Uttar PradeshTravellers from Maharashtra and Kerala must carry a  negative RT-PCR report within 72 hours of travelling. 14 days home quarantine compulsory for all travellers.ChhattisgarhA negative RT-PCR negative report is a must. Travellers can opt for a test on arrival. If a passenger doesn’t take the COVID-19 test, he/she will be quarantined for 7 days. All expenses will be borne by passengers themselves.Himachal PradeshPassengers from Punjab, Delhi, Maharashtra, Gujarat, Karnataka, Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh must carry an RT-PCR negative report done within 72 hours of travelling.Jammu & KashmirAll train passengers need to have an RT-PCR test report done within 72 hours of travel.Meanwhile, the Indian Railways has started operating 432 special trains for Maharashtra in the last few days. Similarly, 1166 special passenger trains are operating from Delhi to carry the migrants.