New Delhi, Dec 18 (IANS): The railways is operating 1,089 mail and express trains as compared to 1,768 trains which used to run before the Covid-19 pandemic, officials said on Friday.

Addressing a virtual press conference here, Railway Board Chairman and CEO V. K. Yadav said, "As of now we are operating 1,089 mail and express trains as compared to 1,768 trains."

He said that the railways is operating 264 Kolkata metro trains and 3,936 suburban services.

The Chairman said that railways is monitoring the train services. "We are also running 20 special clone trains as of now where there is high demand in terms of waitlist."

He said that during the festive season looking at the high demand for confirmed tickets, the national transporter operated 618 special trains to clear the rush.

Commenting on the local passenger trains or small route trains, he said that the railways is running 131 passenger trains across the country.

"We have asked the General Managers to speak to the state government if there are requirements for running more trains in their zones. So we are holding talks with the state government looking at the Covid pandemic," he said.