Janata Curfew: For the first time in Indian Railways' history, over 3700 trains to stay grounded on Sunday

Over 3,700 passenger trains scheduled to start between Saturday midnight to 10 pm on Sunday will stay grounded in the wake of "Janata curfew" announced by Prime Minister Narendra Modi amid coronavirus outbreak.

Railways said on Friday said that no passenger train will originate from any railway station in the country from midnight to 10 pm on Sunday.

Only the trains that would have already started before 00:00 hours on Sunday will be allowed to complete their trip. Trains that are scheduled to run after 10 pm on Sunday will be allowed to start their journey.

"The Indian Railways has suspended train services of over 3,700 passenger locomotives and long-distance mail and express trains, which were scheduled to start their journeys on Sunday due to call of `Janata Curfew`," the ministry said.

This is the first time in the 167 years of Indian Railways' history that these many passenger trains will stay grounded for any reason.

Earlier, the Railways had said stated that mail and express trains will also stop services from 4 am to 10 pm on Sunday while all suburban train services will be reduced to a bare minimum as well.

The decision, the Railways said, was taken in view of the coronavirus outbreak and keeping in mind that the demand will be less due to 'Janata Curfew'.

"All passenger trains originating between midnight of March 21/March 22 to 22:00 hours of March 22 shall not be run. However, the passenger train services already on run at 0700 hours on the day will be allowed to run to the destinations. Divisions should keep a watch and trains which are empty could be short terminated, if required," the railway order said.

Suburban services in Mumbai, Delhi, Kolkata, Chennai and Secunderabad shall be reduced to a bare minimum level only to cater to essential travel.

The local trains in cities, especially in Mumbai, are considered the backbone of public transport.

"Wherever long-distance train and Intercity train has huge occupancy, zonal railways may at their discretion decide to not cancel such trains and run them as per schedule/revised schedule so that large number of passengers do not get stranded on March 22," the order further said.

The Prime Minister on Thursday called for a 'Janata curfew' from 7 am to 9 pm on March 22, saying no citizen, barring those in essential services, should get out of their houses. The experience will serve the nation well and will show India's readiness to take on the coronavirus challenge, he said.

"This Sunday, that is on March 22, all citizens must follow this curfew from 7 am until 9 pm. During this curfew, we shall neither leave our homes, nor get onto the streets and refrain from roaming about in our societies or areas. Only those associated with emergency and essential services mleave their homes," Modi said during his address to the nation.

The move was aimed at creating awareness about "social distancing" which is a powerful weapon in the fight against coronavirus.