Reportedly indian Railways has cancelled nearly 200 trains to contain the spread of novel coronavirus outbreak in India. Sources told that the cancellations may lead to losses over Rs 450 crore in the month of March. They are expected to rise further in the remaining days of the months.
Ticket cancellations were at a record high this month as people reduced travel after Covid-19 infections started picking pace in India. Over 12 lakh tickets have been cancelled between march 1 and 12 in only the Northern Railway zone. It has refunded tickets worth Rs 85 crore. indian Railways has allowed refunds on cancellation by withdrawing concessional booking of tickets to senior citizens for unreserved and reserved segments from march 20 till further notice.
This step has been taken by the railways to discourage people from travelling unless absolutely necessary.In parliament, it has been informed that the indian Railways has encountered 63 per cent cancellation during the outbreak and it is expected to rise further. As of now, india has recorded in excess of 200 cases, now spreading at a faster spread than last week. It has claimed the lives of five people including an Italian national.
