Union Railways Minister Piyush Goyal announced all passenger services of Indian Railways will be suspended until March 31 midnight, in a bid to prevent further spread of COVID-19.

Footage from Monday (March 23) shows an empty railway station in Bengaluru, the capital of India's southern Karnataka state.

All passenger services of Indian Railways have been suspended from March 22 midnight to March 31 midnight

The Indian Railways has relaxed train ticket cancellation and refund rules in a bid to avoid overcrowding at railway stations and practicing social distancing at the time of the coronavirus pandemic that has hit the nation.

In an unprecedented move, the railways has announced the suspension of all its passenger services from March 22 midnight to March 31 midnight and said only goods trains would run during the said period amid concerns that coronavirus-infected passengers were spreading the virus.

Following this, the railways shared an advisory about relaxation in refund rules, which are applicable for the journey period between March 21 and April 15.