Railways to open reservation counters, allow agent booking

In a relief for several people planning to travel with the coming resumption of train services, the Indian Railways has given green signal to the re-opening of reservation counters and booking through the Common Service Centres (CSCs) and also ticket agents.

This development has come after Railways announced 200 more special trains from June 1.

The Railways Ministry had earlier said the tickets can be booked through the IRCTC website or its mobile app only. According to a statement, the zonal railways have been instructed to decide and notify the opening of reservation counters in a phased manner on Friday along with dissemination of information about their locations and timings as per local needs and conditions. The opening of booking centres will mark an important step in graded restoration of passenger railway services

From Friday onwards, the Railways has also allowed booking of reservation tickets through the Common Service Centres and ticketing agents. The running of Shramik Special trains will continue to be handled by local state governments as per the existing protocols.

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"Opening of all these booking facilities once again will mark an important step in the graded restoration of passenger railway services and making the task of ticket booking easy for all prospective travelers from all parts of India in reserved trains. Zonal railways may adhere to standard social distancing guidelines and observe the hygiene protocols in view of the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic," said the statement.