By Our Correspondent
NEW DELHI/BHUBANESWAR: Indian Railways till Monday have operates as many as 468 Sharmik Specila Trains across the country. Subsequent to the Ministry of Home Affairs 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.
As on May 11 2020, a total of 468 “Shramik Special” trains have been operationalized from various states across the country, in which 363 trains had reached its destination and 105 trains are in transit, the Railways Ministry said.
Sources in East Coast Railways headquarters in Bhubaneswar said , Odisha has got 25 Sharmik Specila Trains so far out of the total 468 nationwide.
These 363 trains were terminated in various states like Andhra Pradesh (1 Train), Bihar (100 Trains), Himachal Pradesh (1 Train), Jharkhand (22 Trains), Madhya Pradesh (30 Trains), Maharashtra (3 Trains), Odisha (25 Trains), Rajasthan(4 Trains), Telangana(2 Trains), Uttar Pradesh (172 Trains), West Bengal(2 Trains), Tamil Nadu (1 Train).
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 1200 passengers can travel observing social distancing. Proper screening of passengers is ensured before boarding the train. During the journey, passengers are given free meals and water.
