The fourth phase of un-lock is already rolling out and the government is gradually relaxing the norms on various amenities for resuming the normal phase for society. In the fourth phase of Unlock, Indian Railways is planning to introduce more special trains with the consent of state governments following a green signal from the Home Ministry. However, the new lot of special trains will be introduced in batches and full resumption of normal services in a pre-Covid scale is still a long way away. Earlier, RailRecipe had released list of trains that started running post-lock-down.
What’s the Update on 100 more Trains?
Indian Railways has reached out to the Ministry of home and external affairs to seek approval for running 100 more special trains. It is also seeking consent and inputs from the state governments. Currently, 230 trains are running, which include 30 Rajdhani Express trains. With the addition of more of these trains, the travel crowd would be eased a bit from the existing toll on limited trains.
What About the Train Timings?
Train timings won’t change as per sources and would remain the same for already running trains and the new 100 special trains which are being included during Unlock 4.0.
What about “Shramik Special Trains”?
In terms of Shramik Special train operations, the national transporter had said a total of 4,165 Shramik Special trains were operated from 1 May to 9 July and ferried over 63 lakh people to their home states amid pandemic and that all existing demand for such trains were fully met till the mentioned date.
“The last Shramik Special train ran on July 9 and with that, we presume that we have met the demand of the states regarding these trains. However, if there is more such demand, we will run these services again,” Railway Board Chairman VK Yadav said in an online press conference earlier.
What Arrangements are Being Made for these New Special Trains?
Railway officials in charge of train operations at zonal and divisional levels are holding parleys with states to chalk out a final plan, sources said. An official said the number of additional special trains being mooted is “over 100”. The list has been prepared keeping the prevailing demand in mind on a number of certain routes. Trains to and from Bihar and those connecting Uttar Pradesh and Maharashtra and Gujarat have been showing healthy occupancy consistently, officials said.
States like Tamil Nadu, Jharkhand, West Bengal, Odisha have not been keen on the introduction of more trains.
Recommended Read: Comprehensive Guide for Safer Travel via Trains During Pandemic
When Can You Expect these 100 Special Trains to Ferry?
While a formal decision is yet to be taken, the issue is learned to have been discussed at a high-level video conference between Railway Board top brass and zonal and divisional officials earlier this week.
In case you are planning to travel via trains, avoid buying food from local outlets. Order food in train from contactless delivery channels only.
Keep a check on RailRecipe Blog for the next updates on this and also the list of trains that would be included during this Unlock phase. Subscribe to our blog and share it among your peers.