Several queue at Patna railway station to cancel train tickets over coronavirus fears
May 28, 2020
Patna (Bihar) [India], May 28 : As the coronavirus cases continue to rise across the country, several people in Bihar's Patna are reconsidering their decision to travel by trains and canceling their pre-booked tickets.
Many people were seen at the ticket counter of Patna railway station on Thursday seeking to cancel their train tickets.
The Indian Railways had last week opened its reservation counters and portals for booking and cancellation of reserved tickets.
"I am here for a ticket refund. I had booked the ticket a month back. We planned to go to Tirupati. However, we don't want to travel right now when there is a coronavirus crisis spreading across the country," said Shailender Kumar.
He said that his family has decided to cancel all travel plans to stay at home.
Rupesh Shah, also in line at the railway station, said that it would be hard to avoid crowds in the train and railway stations if they were to travel.
"We are canceling our ticket because we have reconsidered our decision to travel. On trains, people come on board at every station. How far can one avoid others in trains and railway stations? We are not going to travel right now," he said.
Another person, Bipin Kumar, said that the gravity of the situation is reflected in the decision of the government to cancel trains and impose a lockdown.
"The railway has never been stopped before. This reflects the gravity of the coronavirus situation in the country. So, we are going to cancel all our travel plans and stay at home," Kumar said.
The Indian Railways has partially restored train services connecting Delhi to different parts of the country with 15 pairs of trains.
Regular train services have been suspended since the beginning of the lockdown, imposed to prevent the spread of coronavirus, and only Shramik special, other special trains, parcel and freight services were being operated.
