The Indian Railways has operated 366 "Shramik Special" trains since May 10 and ferried home 4 lakhs of migrants stranded in various parts of the country amid the coronavirus-induced lockdown.
As on May 10, a total of 366 “Shramik Special” trains have been operationalised from various states across the country, in which 287 trains had reached its destination and 79 trains are in transit, the ministry said in a statement.
Out of these 287 trains, 127 terminated in Uttar Pradesh, 87 in Bihar, 24 in Madhya Pradesh, 20 in Odisha, 16 in Jharkhand, four in Rajasthan, three in Maharashtra, two each in Telangana and West Bengal, and one each in Andhra Pradesh and Himachal Pradesh.
The ministry further said that subsequent to the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) order regarding movement of migrant workers, pilgrims, tourists, students and other persons stranded at different places by special trains, Indian Railways had decided to operate “Shramik Special” trains.
These trains have ferried migrants to cities like Tiruchchirappalli, Titlagarh, Barauni, Khandwa, Jagannathpur, Khurda Road, Prayagraj, Chhapra, Balia, Gaya, Purnia, Varanasi, Darbhanga, Gorakhpur, Lucknow, Jaunpur, Hatia, Basti, Katihar, Danapur, Muzzaffarpur, Saharsa etc.
In these Shramik Special Trains, maximum around 1,200 passengers can travel observing social distancing, it said, adding that proper screening of passengers is ensured before boarding the train. During the journey, passengers are given free meals and water.
Every Shramik Special train has 24 coaches, each with a capacity of 72 seats. However, only 54 people are allowed in a coach to maintain social distancing norms and the middle berth is not allotted to any passenger.
While the railways have not yet announced the cost incurred on the special services, the officials indicate that the national transporter has spent around Rs 80 lakh per service. The government had earlier stated that the cost of the services has been shared on 85:15 ratios with states. Since the Shramik Special train service started, Gujarat has remained one of the top originating stations followed by Kerala.