The Chhattisgarh High Court has ruled that the South East Central Railway (SECR) cannot charge extra fares for passenger, local and MEMU trains running under the 'special' category. The court order came after a public interest litigation (PIL) highlighted the irregular operations of trains and extra charges levied for special trains...
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introduced following the COVID-19 pandemic. The DRM of the SECR Bilaspur Division confirmed in an affidavit that all passenger, local and MEMU trains will resume regular operations from January 1, 2025. The court also directed the SECR to restore the operation of the 08745 and 08746 MEMU locals running between Raipur-Gevra Road-Raipur which had been cancelled for the past 9 months.

A Public Interest Litigation (PIL) filed by advocate Sudeep Srivastava concerning the irregular operation of trains, the running of special trains instead of passenger trains, and delays after the Covid-19 pandemic was heard in the High Court. The South East Central Railway Bilaspur's DRM submitted an affidavit to the court stating...
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that passenger, MEMU, and local trains, which were scheduled to operate as regular trains starting July 1, 2024, would now commence as normal trains from January 1, 2025 due to the inability to print the timetable. The DRM also stated that despite running as special trains, MEMU and local trains would not be charged special fares. The court also directed the DRM to provide detailed information and clarify the situation regarding the cancellation of the 08745 and 08746 MEMU locals operating between Raipur-Gevra Road-Raipur for the past nine months.