ABP News broadcast on trains cancelled due to COVID in 2020 viral as recent

A 5:58 minutes long video of an ABP News broadcast has gone viral on social media. The clip relays a news update on the government cancelling all passenger trains until March 31, in view of the rising COVID-19 cases. According to the broadcast, metro services, as well as long-distance train services, will not be running. It has been claimed that the broadcast is recent. Facebook page ‘PBR New’ posted the video on March 14. It had amassed more than 4.1 million views at the time of writing. (Archive link)

Facebook page ‘Tmc Trinamool Congress’ also shared the clip and accompanying claim. (Archive link)

The video is circulating widely on Twitter and Facebook.

https://t.co/MsE6qRgy2J

— Dinanath Singh (@Dinanat89137651) March 15, 2021

Old broadcast

Alt News located the original broadcast through a simple keyword search on YouTube. Posted on March 22, 2020, it is titled, “31 मार्च तक सभी पैसेंजर ट्रेनें रद्द, भारतीय रेलवे का फैसला” (Indian Railways Cancels All Passenger Trains till March 31). The viral visuals appear between the 0:20 and 6:18 mark.

Moreover, there are no media reports on the cancellation of trains in March 2021. PIB Fact-check also dismissed the claim in a press release.

एक खबर में दावा किया जा रहा है कि 31 मार्च तक सभी ट्रेनें रद्द कर दी गई हैं। #PIBFactCheck: यह खबर पुरानी है। @RailMinIndia ने 31 मार्च, 2021 तक ट्रेन रद्द करने का यह फैसला नहीं लिया है। इस पुरानी खबर को गलत संदर्भ में साझा किया जा रहा है। pic.twitter.com/YcZ8Za9Vj1

— PIB Fact Check (@PIBFactCheck) March 15, 2021

A year-old clip of ABP News broadcast on the cancellation of all passenger trains due to coronavirus pandemic is widespread as recent.