Railways issues guidelines for TTEs: Black coats, ties off, PPEs, masks, gloves on

The railways also said that all its staff shall be provided with sufficient number of masks, face shields, head covers, hand gloves, sanitiser and soap ensuring their safety while they are duty.

For the first time in 167 years, on-board ticket checking staff will now not be required to wear their customary black coats and ties and will instead wear gloves, masks, face shields, PPEs and use magnifying glasses to check tickets, the Indian Railways said in a fresh order issued on Friday.

In the guidelines for TTEs for the 100 pairs of special trains scheduled to start from June 1, the Railways said, “In order to prevent/reduce chances of infection, TTE staff may be asked to dispense with tie and coat. They will, however, put on their name and designation badge.”

The Railways also said all its staff shall be provided with sufficient number of masks, face shields, head covers, hand gloves, sanitiser and soap for protecting themselves from contracting Covid-19 while on duty.

“In order to prevent physical handling of tickets for verifying the details, a magnifying glass be provided if possible, so that the TTE can scrutinise the details from a distance without touching the ticket,” the guidelines said.

Checks might also be conducted to see whether the TTEs are using the protective equipment, it was mentioned.

With over 100 pairs of trains to start operations from June 1, the government is gearing up to restore around a similar number of more trains soon in a bid to bring back normalcy into the economy.

With a large number of non-AC coaches already being used by Shramik Specials, and a huge number consumed by restoration of the 100 pairs of mail/express trains, it is expected that the next set of train services to be resumed will have the AC class services. Around 1,200 pairs of regular mail/express trains remain to be restored.

Last week, the Railways decided to open ticket booking counters across India in a phased manner so that sale of tickets offline can restart. It had already decided to open food stalls and canteens at stations a day earlier.

The signal from top levels of the government now is to accelerate the return to normalcy and restoration of trains services, without compromising gains of the lockdown, officials said.