New IRCTC train ticket rule - This procedure is mandatory for all - Check Details

New IRCTC train ticket booking rule! Indian Railways has asked all passengers to confirm their awareness on “quarantine protocol” before booking their IRCTC train tickets for journeys on Rajdhani Express-type special train services
as well as other trains that might be operated in due course of time. 

From now, only such passengers will be allowed to book tickets, according to an IE report. Piyush Goyal-led Indian Railways has decided to add this feature to the national transporter’s e-ticketing arm- IRCTC’s website, after some passengers of Delhi – Bengaluru special train had to be hauled back because they refused to go to institutional quarantine for a period of 14 days, earlier this week.

From now on, while booking tickets on the IRCTC website, a pop-up will appear on the website’s screen, asking passengers or users to confirm if they have read and agree to abide by the health advisory of the destination state. Only after checking “ok”, they can proceed to book their tickets. The message is available in both languages, Hindi and English. Apart from this, it also asks the passenger or IRCTC user to download the Aarogya Setu mobile app.

Earlier this week, the national transporter decided to operate special train services for all of the passengers and not just migrant workers, students, pilgrims, and others, calling it a “gradual resumption of passenger train services”. However, Indian Railways left it to the destination state governments as well as the concerned railway passengers to figure out whether they would be quarantined due to the current crisis of COVID-19 pandemic, upon reaching a destination or not.

On 14 May 2020, 140 out of 543 passengers who arrived in Bengaluru from Delhi by the special train, refused to agree to the quarantine rules of the Karnataka government. According to sources quoted in the report, the passengers, on payment basis, were asked to check into a nearby hotel-turned-quarantine centre for two weeks. Since they refused to agree to this, it became the responsibility of Indian Railways as the state government of Karnataka refused to let these passengers get out of the railway station. As an emergency measure and to avoid such hassle again, the national transporter then, attached an extra coach to the special train that was due to leave for Delhi.

The special Rajdhani Express- type train services are travelling to and from 15 cities connecting the national capital. Also, more trains with non-AC class coaches are also likely be introduced in the coming days but this has not been finalized yet.