Hyderabad, (Samajweekly) Nearly two months after the train services were suspended as part of the national lockdown, Secunderabad railway station on Wednesday sprang to life with passengers boarding a special train bound for New Delhi.
The KSR Bengaluru-New Delhi AC superfast special train had a halt at Secunderabad station, an official of South Central Railway told IANS.
The train, which reached Secunderabad at 7.55 a.m., departed for the national capital after a 10-minute halt.
The passengers, who had reserved the tickets from Secunderabad, boarded the train amid tight security by the Railway Protection Force (RPF) and the police, who had cordoned off the station to prevent entry of unauthorised passengers.
The railway authorities in coordination with other departments had put in place all arrangements to implement the guidelines issued by the Ministry of Home Affairs for running of special trains.
They ensured that all passengers boarding the train wore face masks and maintained social distancing. There was thermal screening of the passengers to ensure that only the asymptomatic, travel by the train.
To facilitate the thermal screening, the passengers were asked to report to the station 90 minutes before the departure of the train. However, the passengers had started lining up at the station much before.
The train which departed from KSR Bengaluru at 8.30 p.m. on Tuesday is scheduled to reach New Delhi at 5.55 a.m. on Thursday. It will stop at Nagpur, Bhopal and Jhansi stations.
Meanwhile, New Delhi-KSR Bengaluru special train, which left New Delhi at 9.15 p.m. on Tuesday, is scheduled to stop at Secunderabad station at 6.20 p.m on Wednesday.
Secunderabad-New Delhi special train is scheduled on May 20. The train will depart from Secunderabad at 1.15 p.m. and reach New Delhi at 10.40 a.m. the next day, the South Central Railway said.
In the opposite direction, New Delhi-Secunderabad special train will depart New Delhi on May 17 at 4 p.m. and reach Secunderabad at 2 p.m. the next day.
These trains are among the 15 pairs of special trains being operated by the railways from May 12.
