New Delhi: In a significant move to help migrant workers, Indian Railways has announced that it will operate about 200 Shramik special trains, expanding from the existing 15 trains. The capacity will also be increased eventually.


The state governments have been requested to register the workers and give the list of selected individuals to the railways so that it can help them reach their destination via Shramik Special trains.

Additionally, Railways is going to run 200 Non-AC trains every day as per a time table from June 1. Announcing the decision on Twitter, Railway Minister Piyush Goyal said that the online booking for these trains will begin soon. More details will be revealed shortly.

The Union Minister has also requested the migrants to be where they are and has assured them that Indian Railways will take them home.

Meanwhile, more than 21 lakh passengers have reached their native places in 1,595 "Shramik Special" trains which have been operationalized so far from various states across the country, the government said on Tuesday.

"As on 19th May 2020 (till 1600 hrs), a total of 1595 "Shramik Special" trains have been operationalized from various states across the country. More than 21 lacs passengers have reached their home State," an official release said.

"These 1,595 trains were originated from various states like Andhra Pradesh, Bihar, Chandigarh UT, Delhi, Goa, Gujarat, Haryana, Jharkhand, Karnataka, Kerala, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Puducherry UT, Punjab, Rajasthan, Odisha, Tamil Nadu, Telangana, Tripura, Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, West Bengal," it said.

The Railways has been running the special trains after Home Ministry granted permission for movement of stranded citizens including migrants labourers, workers, students, tourists to return to their native towns due to coronavirus-induced lockdown.

(With Agency Inputs)

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