The trains run on Rajdhani routes and charge premium fares. The Rajdhani Special train service started by the national carrier on May 12 to ferry stranded people between Delhi and other major cities of the country has seen a major demand from the middle class with most of them running on full capacity.

The Railways has sold around 1,87,827 tickets till date and a total of 3,48,634 passengers have travelled so far on these special trains. The total fare till date has been ₹69,33,67,735. Twenty-one trains will be operational on May 27.

According to a report, the railways may go for a graded resumption of passenger services in the fourth phase of the lockdown from tomorrow. Officials, however, indicated that no regular passenger service will be resumed at least till June 30.

Initially these trains did not have a waiting list, but it was introduced later to cater to the huge demand for these trains.

The railways allowed this relaxation for trains running from May 22 onwards.

The waiting list for special trains will be capped at 100 for AC 3 tier, 50 for AC 2 tier, 200 for sleeper class, 100 for chair cars, while the list will be capped at 20 each for First AC and Executive Class. There shall be no Reservation Against Cancellation (RAC) in special trains, Indian Railways said in a statement.

After passengers on board a special train to Bengaluru refused to be quarantined, the IRCTC has now decided that only those who agree to follow the quarantine protocol of the destination states will be allowed to book tickets on its portal.

The new rule, mentioned in a pop-up on its website, reads “I have read the health advisory issued by my destination state. I accept and shall abide by the same” and requires the passenger to click on ‘I agree’ to move forward and book tickets.

The rule comes days after around 50 passengers who arrived in Bengaluru from Delhi on May 14 refused to be quarantined at an institutional facility and created a ruckus at the station.