Indian Railways will gradually restart passenger train operations from May 12, initially with 15 pairs of trains, the national transporter said on Sunday.

These trains will be run as special trains from New Delhi station connecting Dibrugarh, Agartala, Howrah, Patna, Bilaspur, Ranchi, Bhubaneswar, Secunderabad, Bangalore, Chennai, Thiruvananthapuram, Madgaon, Mumbai Central, Ahmedabad and Jammu Tawi.

All passenger train services were suspended due to the lockdown announced on March 25.

After the resumption of these 15 services, the railways will start more special services on new routes based on the availability of coaches after reserving 20,000 coaches for Covid-19 care centres. The railways also targets running up to 300 trains everyday as Shramik Specials for stranded migrants.

Booking for reservation in these trains will start at 4pm on May 11 and will be available only on the IRCTC website.

Ticket booking counters at railway stations will remain closed and no counter tickets (including platform tickets) will be issued, it said.

Only passengers with valid confirmed tickets will be allowed to enter railway stations. It will be mandatory for passengers to wear face cover and undergo screening at departure. Only asymptomatic passengers will be allowed to board the trains.