A fine of Rs 500 will be imposed for not wearing masks in railway premises or in trains

Amidst the rising Covid-19 cases, on Saturday, the Indian Railways took another measure to prevent the spread of the virus.

The Railways stated that it would impose a fine of Rs 500 from passengers for spitting and not wearing masks in the railways’ premises or while travelling in trains.

The order will come into immediate effect for six months.

The order issued by the railway said, “One of the specific guidelines is to wear masks in order to contain the spread of the coronavirus. The Standard Operating Procedure(SOP) for movement of trains as brought out by Indian Railways on May 11, 2020, says that it should be advised to all passengers that they shall be wearing face cover/mask at entry and during travel.”

According to an order issued today, ‘not wearing a mask’ is now an offence under the Railway Act.

The order said that the mandatory use of masks and the fine will now be listed under the Indian Railways Rules 2012, which also has the provision of fines for the people who are found spitting on rail premises.

The order stated, “In view of the Covid-19 situation, controlling spitting and act of similar nature due to any person not wearing a mask and entering railway premises (including trains), is important to avoid the creation of unclean and unhygienic conditions which may cause danger to life and public health.”

It said, “Accordingly, to prevent spitting and act of similar nature and thus, to ensure wearing of face masks or face cover by all persons at railway premises (including trains), fines (up to Rs 500) under Indian Railways (Penalties for activities affecting cleanliness at Railway Premises) Rules, 2012, shall be imposed by railway officials.”

India witnessed more than 2.3 lakh Covid cases on Saturday and it has been recording over 2 lakh cases since the past three days.

The transport transporter is presently operating 70% of its passenger train service across the country.