Highlights:
- Indian Railways to start 40 clone trains from today
- The trains will run on 20 routes
- Passengers will be able to book tickets via IRCTC or from PRS counters
From Monday, the largest transporter in India will start its latest initiative of operating the clone trains in its network. At the beginning, a total of 40 trains (20 pairs) which will operate in the Indian Railways network which has seen a surge in passenger demand in recent times.
The key features of these clone trains will be that they will have fewer stoppages en-route and also they will run at a considerably higher speed than the original trains on those routes.
At the times India is facing these close trains are nothing short of a boon for the railway passengers and the problem of not being able to get a hold on a ticket in these busy routes which could be reduced with the introduction of the clone trains.
Passengers will be able to book the tickets from these clone trains via the official website of IRCTC and app. In addition, they can also be purchased from PRS counters for these trains.
IRCTC shares were 0.8% higher at ₹1,415 in early trade as Indian Railways decided to operate more trains.
Here is the complete list of Clone Trains:
- Clone train between Bengaluru and Danapur (Train No. 06509/ 06510)
- Clone train between Yesvantpur and Nizamuddin (Train No. 06523/ 06524)
- Clone train between Ahmedabad and Darbhanga (Train No. 09465/ 09466)
- Clone train between Ahmedabad and Delhi (Train No. 09415/ 09416)
- Clone train between Surat and Chhapra (Train No. 09065/ 09066)
- Clone train between Bandra (T) and Amritsar (Train No. 09025/ 09026)
- Clone train between Ahmedabad and Patna (Train No.09447/ 09448)
- Clone train between New Delhi and Rajgir (Train No. 03391/ 03392)
- Clone train between New Delhi and Saharsa (Train No. 02563/ 02564)
- Clone train between New Delhi and Darbhanga (Train No. 02569/ 02570)
- Clone train between Muzaffarpur and Delhi (Train No. 02573/ 02574)
- Clone train between Rajendra Nagar and New Delhi (Train No. 03293/ 03294)
- Clone train between Katihar and Delhi (Train No. 05485/ 05486)
- Clone train between New Jalpaiguri and Amritsar (Train No. 04653/ 04654)
- Clone train between Jaynagar and Amritsar (Train No. 04651/04652)
- Clone train between Varanasi and New Delhi (Train No. 04059/ 04060)
- Clone train between Ballia and Delhi (Train No. 04055/ 04056)
- Clone train between Lucknow and New Delhi (Train No. 04251/ 04252)
- Clone train between Secunderabad and Danapur (Train No. 02787/ 02788)
- Clone train between Vasco and Nizamuddin (Train No. 07379/ 07380)
Going by the list of clone trains being run by the Railways, 10 (5 pairs) will be operating between Bihar and Delhi under the East Central Railways.
These clone trains will originate and terminate at Bihar’s Darbhanga, Muzaffarpur, Rajendra Nagar, Rajgir, and Saharsa.
The two trains operating under the Northeast Frontier Railway are also from Bihar: Katihar to Delhi and back.
The Northern Railway will also run 10 trains (5 pairs) which will operate between Delhi and Bihar and back, West Bengal to Delhi, Punjab to West Bengal, Uttar Pradesh to Delhi among others.
The South Central Railway of the Indian Railways will operate two trains between Danapur (Bihar) to Secunderabad and back.
The South Western Railway will operate 6 trains (3 pairs) between Goa and Delhi, Karnataka-Bihar and Karnataka-Delhi.
The Western Railway will run 10 trains (5 pairs) between Bihar (Darbhanga)-Gujarat(Ahmedabad), Delhi-Gujarat, Bihar (Chhapra) to Gujarat (Surat), Mumbai-Punjab, Gujarat(Ahmedabad)-Bihar (Patna) The Railways had suspended all passenger trains services due to the imposition of a nationwide lockdown from 25th March. However, it resumed services in a staggered manner, with Shramik Special trains to help stranded migrant workers reach their home states from 1st May.
Then, it started 230 special trains across the country, followed by another 80 special trains from September 12. The additional trains were announced keeping in mind the COVID-19 situation, and also to allow reverse migration of workers to urban areas for work, with the country entering into Unlock 4.0. The clone trains include: New Delhi-Saharsa-New Delhi; New Delhi-Rajgir-New Delhi; New Delhi-Darbhanga-New Delhi; Delhi-Muzaffarpur-Delhi.
The other trains are: New Delhi-Rajendra Nagar-New Delhi; Delhi-Katihar-Delhi; New Jalpaiguri-Amritsar-New Jalpaiguri; Jayanagar-Amritsar-Jayanagar; New Delhi-Lucknow-New Delhi; Bengaluru-Danapur-Bengaluru.
The other routes being served through these clone trains are: Varanasi – New Delhi – Varanasi; Ballia — Delhi — Ballia; Secunderabad – Danapur – Secunderabad; Vasco-Nizamuddin-Vasco; Yesvantpur-Nizamuddin – Yesvantpur; Ahmedabad-Darbhanga-Ahmedabad; Ahmedabad – Delhi – Ahmedabad; Surat – Chhapra – Surat; Bandra-Amritsar-Bandra; Ahmedabad-Patna-Ahmedabad.
While the tickets for 19 pairs of these trains — all 18 coaches — will be charged at the Humsafar Express rates, the fare will be at par with the Janshatabdi Express rates for the 22-coach clone train between Lucknow and Delhi. The advance reservation period for these trains will be 10 days and the booking opened at 8 am on September 19, the Railways said.
