Indian Railways has decided to run 2,600 more Shramik Special trains in next 10 days in an attempt to provide relief to migrants to reach home State.
The railways in a statement said that while the country is battling with the pandemic coronavirus, Indian Railways is leaving no stone unturned to bring respite to the severely affected during this crucial time.
“In a major decision, Ministry of Railways has decided to operationalise 2,600 more Shramik Special trains in next ten days across the country as per the needs of State Governments. This initiative is expected to benefit 36 lakh stranded passengers across the country,” it said.
It may be noted that Indian Railways started running “Shramik Special” trains from May 1 to ferry migrant workers, pilgrims, tourists, students and other persons stranded at different places due to lock down.
These special trains are being run from point to point on the request of both the concerned State Governments as per the standard protocols for sending and receiving such stranded persons.
The Railways and State Governments have appointed senior officials as nodal officers for coordination and smooth operation of these “Shramik Specials”.
As many as 2,600 Shramik Special trains has been run in last 23 days and around 36 lakhs stranded migrants have been transported till now to their home States.
It is to be noted that apart from Shramik Special train, Ministry of Railways has started 15 pairs of special trains from May 12 and announced 200 train services to be started from June 1.