New Delhi: IRCTC said Wednesday it will restart the first set of "private" Tejas Express trains from October 17, seven months after the Lucknow-New Delhi and Ahmedabad-Mumbai services were suspended due to the Coronavirus pandemic.
It said every alternate seat on the two trains will be kept vacant to ensure social distancing and passengers will be thermally screened before entering the coach and not allowed to exchange their seats once seated.
It also said passengers will be provided a "Covid-19 protection kit". It will contain a bottle of hand sanitizers, one mask, one face shield and one pair of gloves. The coach, including the pantry areas and lavatories, will be disinfected at regular intervals. The luggage and baggage of the passengers will also be disinfected by a staff.
"Use of face covers/masks will be mandatory for passengers and staff. All travellers will install Arogya Setu app and same shall be shown as and when demanded. Detailed instructions will be given to the passengers at the time of booking of tickets," IRCTC said, outlining the SOP to be followed during the initial period because of the pandemic. The two Tejas Express services are the first set of trains run by a corporate entity, IRCTC, a subsidiary of the Indian Railways. The third train, the Kashi Mahakal Express between Indore and Varanasi will however not begin its services yet.