Railways rolled out 20 pairs of ‘clone trains’ on high demand routes on September 21. These clone trains — primarily 3-AC trains with fewer halts, higher speeds and a departure time before the parent train — come as a boon for the passengers who have to travel in an emergency or have made last-minute plans.

What are clone trains?

This initiative was first announced by then Railway Minister Suresh Prabhu in 2016, but it failed to take off primarily because of congestion on the rail network.

On September 15, the Railways announced that it will run 20 pairs of clone trains from September 21, with most trains between Bihar, West Bengal, Uttar Pradesh and Delhi.

These clone trains will be operated on routes that have a long waiting list and will run ahead of the actual train so that passengers have no problem in travelling.

Their stoppages will be limited to operational halts or the Divisional Headquarters en route, if any, thereby reducing their journey time.

The tickets for 19 pairs of these trains will be charged at the Humsafar Express rates, and it will be at par with the Janshatabdi Express rates for the clone train between Lucknow and Delhi.

The Railways had suspended all passenger trains services due to the imposition of a nationwide lockdown from March 25. It resumed services in a staggered manner, with Shramik Special trains to help stranded migrant workers reach their home states from May 1. Then, it started 230 special trains across the country, followed by another 80 special trains from September 12.

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