Railways cancels tickets of passengers travelling within Maha after state bans inter-district travel

The railways on Thursday cancelled tickets of all passengers whose originating and terminating stations fall within Maharashtra, after the state government prohibited inter-district travel. In an order issued on Thursday, the railways said all the tickets of the special trains scheduled to run from June 1 within Maharashtra will be automatically cancelled and full refund will be provided to passengers.

It also said that till further notice, intra-state bookings within Maharashtra should not be permitted.

"Tickets of all passengers whose originating as well as terminating stations fall within the state of Maharashtra be cancelled and full refund to be given without deduction of any cancellation charges," the order stated.

This, however, does not mean that trains cannot originate from stations in Maharashtra, a railway spokesperson said.

He explained that for instance, if a train from Mumbai to Kanpur goes via Nashik, no passenger who has boarded the train from any station in Maharashtra can deboard within the boundaries of the state.

However, a passenger can board the train from Nashik and travel outside the state, the spokesperson explained.

"Only those who have availed tickets to travel within the state cannot do so now," he added.

The 100 pairs of special trains, including the Duronto Express, Jan Shatabdi and several popular mail and express trains, are scheduled to begin their journey from June 1.

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The railway board order also stated that passengers should be sent an SMS stating that, "Due to restrictions imposed by Maharashtra government for travel within the state by train, your ticket has been cancelled and full refund shall be given."