Not resuming suburban train services in Bengal as of now, says Rail Board CEO

New Delhi: Due to the outbreak of Coronavirus, the Indian Railways completely denied any speculation over the resumption of suburban train services in West Bengal soon. While speaking to Millennium Post on Thursday, CEO of Rail Board Vinod Kumar Yadav said: "There has to be a safe protocol to disperse the huge mass from one place to another."

Yadav also confirmed that the Centre is in talks with the state government and other stakeholders, aiming to build safe collective SOPs preventing gatherings in platforms, travelling in overcrowded trains and even on the ticket distribution system.

"Whenever and wherever we start special train services, we have collected reports from the zones and data through our software. We have also coordinated with the respective state authorities and commenced services. For this case also, we will decide after getting the nod from the state government," he mentioned.

However, earlier, on August 28, Bengal Chief Secretary Alapan Bandyopadhyay in a letter to Yadav had requested for the resumption of suburban trains, while maintaining Covid protocols, including social distancing. This was sent after Mamata Banerjee announced that the state government is ready to allow local train services from September in the state.