Indian Railways passengers alert! Now, you can book IRCTC special train tickets at post offices too

The Indian Railways has made it easier for passengers to book tickets for their journeys during the ongoing crisis. Apart from the IRCTC app and website, the passengers can also book their train tickets through post offices. The new service has come into effect from May 22, for all special trains. 

Other than Post Offices, the ticket booking or cancellation facility has also resumed in Yatri Ticket Suvidha Kendra (YTSK) licensees as well as through authorized agents of IRCTC (Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation). Passengers can also book or cancel their tickets from Indian Railways’ computerized Passenger Reservation System (PRS) counters in railway premises or reservation centers as well as Common Service Centers (CSC).

The Indian Railways is running 15 pairs of AC passenger train services. The advance booking period for these trains was set at 7 days initially but has now been extended to 30 days. The Railway Ministry announced that in addition to these trains, 200 special passenger train services will start operating from 1 June 2020. 

The Indian Railways has ferried over 44 lakh migrant workers on board 3,276 'Shramik Special' trains since May 1, according to official data. Of the total trains, 2,875 have terminated, while 401 are in transit. The Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation (IRCTC) has distributed over 74 lakh free meals and more than 1 crore water bottles to travelling migrants so far.

"Over and above inter-state movement, the railways has been assisting state governments for intra-state movement of passengers by providing MEMU/DEMU and other train services. Over 11 lakh passengers have been moved within states till now,” the railways recently said in a statement.

The top five states and union territories from where maximum trains originated are Gujarat (897), Maharashtra (590), Punjab (358), Uttar Pradesh (232) and Delhi (200).