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Shramik Special trains to ferry 20,000 stranded across country
The trains scheduled from the respective railway zones were to ferry nearly 20,000 passengers, senior officials said.
Twenty Shramik Special trains were scheduled to run Saturday to ferry stranded migrants to Jharkhand, UP, Bihar from Rajashtan, Maharashtra, Gujarat and the five southern states—Tamil Nadu, Telangana, Karnataka, Kerala and Andhra Pradesh.
The trains scheduled from the respective railway zones were to ferry nearly 20,000 passengers, senior officials said.
“Trains are being planned at the request of the states. Twenty trains are scheduled to run today following all the standard protocols,” Railway Protection Force DG Arun Kumar said.
However, of the 20 scheduled special trains, the Indian Railways said 10 special trains ran on Saturday.
“As per information received, various zonal railways have run around 10 Shramik Special trains today (Saturday) on the demand of various state governments,” railway ministry said.
Amid demands by states and a recognition of the logistical challenges involved in transporting millions of people back to their home states, the Centre on Friday decided to allow special trains—called Shramik Specials—to enable stranded migrants to return home. Five such trains operated on Friday.
According to officials, the railways is unlikely to run trains originating from containment zones like Delhi, Mumbai and Ahmedabad. “There are no trains planned for Mumbai but trains are being run from other destinations like Bhiwandi and Vasai near Mumbai. Trains will only run to these places when the demand from the state government comes,” the official added.
Railways also announced that it will charge to operate special trains for stranded migrant workers amid the lockdown. The fare includes the price of regular sleeper class tickets, plus a superfast charge of ₹30 and an additional charge of ₹20, adding that state governments can coordinate and pay on the passengers’ behalf.
Jharkhand chief minister Hemant Soren Saturday tweeted saying the government should roll back the fare on special trains, adding that it was an “injustice to our labourers who are returning home.”
The ministry of railways had also clarified that the special trains were planned only for those identified and registered by state governments. “No one, under any circumstance, should come to railway stations looking for trains. We will not issue any tickets to any individual or entertain any request from any group or individual. We will allow only those passengers to board whom state government officials bring to the railway stations,” the ministry said.
The railway ministry has said that trains would operate from point-to-point on the request of the concerned state governments. Senior officials would be appointed as nodal officers. It clarified, “The passengers have to be screened by the sending states and only those found asymptomatic will be allowed to travel.” It would also be the responsibility of the governments to bring such individuals to the designated stations in sanitised buses, following social distancing norms. All passengers will have to mandatorily wear masks; while meals and drinking water will be provided, according to the ministry, by the government sending them back home.
