4155 Shramik Special trains ferried over 57 lakh migrants since May 1: Railways

New Delhi: The Railways has operated 4,155 Shramik Special trains ferrying more than 57 lakh passengers since May 1.

These trains originated from various states. The top five states or union territories from where maximum trains originated are Gujarat (1027 trains), Maharashtra (802), Punjab (416), Uttar Pradesh (288) and Bihar (294 trains).

These Shramik Special Trains were terminated in various States across the country. The top five states where maximum trains terminated are Uttar Pradesh(1670 Trains), Bihar(1482 Trains), Jharkhand(194 Trains), Odisha (180 Trains), West Bengal (135 Trains).

It may be noted that trains running now are not facing any congestion, the ministry said in a statement.

In addition to Shramik specials, Railways are running 15 pairs of special Rajdhani type trains connecting New Delhi and started 200 more time tabled trains from June 1.

The 'Shramik Special' trains are being operated primarily on the request of states, which want to send migrant workers stranded due to the COVID-19-induced lockdown, to their native places.

While the Indian Railways is bearing 85 per cent of the total cost of running each train, the rest is being borne by states in the form of fares.

The coronavirus-triggered lockdown has had a devastating impact on the economy as well as on the livelihoods of lakhs of migrant workers.

The plight of migrant workers who were walking from several urban centres to their villages hundreds of kilometres away had grabbed headlines for almost two months.

There have been incidents of many of them being killed in road accidents. A number of migrant labourers were killed by a speeding train after they fell asleep on the tracks.

The Indian Railways also said that nearly 80 per cent of 'Shramik Special' trains are destined for various destinations in Uttar Pradesh and Bihar.

Officials said that as of the last demand send by several states on May 30, there were requests for 321 more trains. The railways will run them in a staggered manner according to the requirement of the states, officials said. A decision on the discontinuation of these trains will be taken soon.