New Delhi, Apr 14 (IANS): Even as the Indian Railways on Tuesday announced to suspend all passenger, mail and express train services till May 3 besides stopping booking of tickets till further notice, the national transporter is set to cancel over 39 lakh tickets booked for travel between April 15 and May 3 following the extension of the nationwide lockdown to fight the coronavirus pandemic.

A senior Railway Ministry official said that the national transporter is all set to cancel around 39 lakh tickets booked for travel between April 15 and May 3 as the nationwide lockdown has been extended till May 3 and suspension of passenger train services is a step to stop the transmission of Covid-19.

The official said that the national transporter had not stopped booking tickets for the post April 14 period during the 21-day lockdown which was imposed from the midnight of March 24.

He said approximately over 39 lakh bookings were made by passengers hoping that trains will start operating from April 15 onwards. However, with the announcement of the extension of the lockdown period, the railways on Tuesday not only cancelled all its passenger services till May 3, but also stopped all advance bookings until further notice.

Earlier in the day, the Railway Ministry had clarified that the facility of online cancellation remained functional. The national transporter said that full refund will also be made to those cancelling advance bookings of tickets for trains not yet cancelled.

It further said that as far as trains cancelled up to May 3 are concerned, the refunds would be automatically made by the railways to the tickets bought online, while those who have booked at the counters can take refund up to July 31.