The Indian Railways on Wednesday announced that all passenger trains, barring the Shramik Special and 30 special trains that started operations from May 12, will remain suspended until further notice. All the passengers who have booked tickets till June 30 will be provided with a full refund.

Shramik Special trains have put in action to ferry lakhs of stranded migrant workers back to their native places. It is understood that as of May 13, a total of 642 Shramik Special trains have been operated across the country and that has resulted in 7.90 lakh passengers reaching their home states, according to the Indian government.

News 18 has reported that the railway ministry has asked the passengers to claim their refunds online as the ticket windows at the stations are expected to be shut during the lockdown, which is likely to be extended post May 17.

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However, other reports say otherwise. Moreover, the railways have now allowed a passenger to cancel the ticket within six months of the journey, from the date of the journey, instead of three days by submitting the Ticket Deposit Receipt (TDR) at the station. As for e-ticket, it will be auto-refunded to the account.

Indian railways on March 22 suspended all the passenger services when the first lockdown was underway due to the coronavirus outbreak. Only trains carrying essential goods have been functional. On May 12, the railways had resumed its services, after a 50-day break, with special trains connecting 15 cities.

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Even though currently, only confirmed tickets are allowed on special trains, the waitlisted tickets will be available for bookings opening on May 15 for journeys beginning from May 22.