Preparations are underway to operate 38 pairs of intercity trains and 19 pairs of mail and commuter trains after the nationwide lockdown restrictions come to an end on Aug 10, said Railways Minister Md Nurul Islam Sujan.
"Commuter trains will operate following health guidelines and leave half the train seats empty. Tickets will only be available online and counters will remain shut," Sujan told bdnews24.com on Thursday.
"The government has decided to resume public transport on a limited basis from Aug 11th. We have made preparations in accordance with the decision.”
"We took preparations to resume train services similar to this Eid. But everything will depend on the final decision of the government,” Sujan added.
In order to prevent the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic, a "strict lockdown" was imposed from Jul 1. As a result, train service, like other forms of public transport, was suspended.
When the lockdown was relaxed from Jul 15 to Jul 22 for Eid, the Ministry of Railways also started operating trains, reports bdnews24.com.
However, the current lockdown, which began on Jul 23, forced another halt to rail services. On Thursday, the government issued a notice extending the current ongoing nationwide lockdown by five days to Aug 10.
Shops, businesses and offices will reopen on Aug 11. Liberation War Affairs Minister AKM Mozammel Haque said on Tuesday that public transport would operate on a limited scale.