New Delhi (NVI): Indian Railways has run more than 2813 Shramik Special trains, carrying over 37 lakh stranded migrants since May 1, the Rail ministry said today.
Nearly 60 per cent trains originated from Gujarat, Maharashtra and Punjab and are majorly destined for Uttar Pradesh and Bihar, the ministry said in a statement.
Apart from this, 80 per cent of total Shramik Special trains are destined for various destinations in Uttar Pradesh and Bihar (1301 for UP and 973 for Bihar).
Most of the destinations in UP are around Lucknow – Gorakhpur sector and in Bihar around Patna. Of 565 trains on run since yesterday, 266 were going to Bihar and 172 to Uttar Pradesh, the ministry said.
However, convergence of trains to these destinations caused congestion in the network. Further, increased time taken in de-boarding of passengers due to the various health and social distancing protocols at the stations is leading to congestion at terminals which further affects network congestion, the ministry added.
Few trains were diverted via Mathura, Jharsuguda to ease the congestion. Further, route rationalisation order has been issued to avoid congestion on routes with heavy traffic, the ministry said. Round the clock monitoring at Railway Board level, Zonal Railway level and Divisional level is being done to ensure that trains are not delayed.
“The train running staff have also been sensitised to ensure punctual running of Shramik special trains. With these efforts, the congestion position has eased considerably and the mobility of trains has drastically improved,” the ministry added.
Due to the surge in east bound trains leading to network congestion, trains got delayed and this affected the meals distribution schedule, the ministry said. IRCTC and Railways have mobilized resources to ensure regular supply of meals and water to the Shramik Special trains and minimize inconvenience to the passengers, it added.
These trains are being operated primarily on the requests of the states, which want to send migrant workers to their native places.
While Railways is bearing 85 per cent of the total cost of running each train, the rest is being borne by the states in the form of fares.
