With increasing demands from daily wage workers who were stranded at remote locations across India, Indian Government gave a nod in consonance with Ministry of Home and Family Welfare (MOHFW) to prepare guidelines on the same. Needless to mention, many people were left stranded away from their hometown due to the successive lockdowns imposed across the nation in wake of COVID-19 pandemic situation. It was getting tougher to maintain the decorum of the states as the tenure went on increasing and pressure was mounting to find ways to get people moving during the lockdown. Roadways was one of the options but it was not a promising one as it might have taken lengthy time periods to process such a huge human migration. Keeping all these aspects, the most preferred national traveler took the charge and started running “Shramik Special” trains.
From May 1, 2020, the Indian Railways started 6 special trains to ferry stranded migrant workers to their home states. These Shramik special trains would be of help to migrant workers, students, pilgrims, tourists, and other people who are stranded in different states. Check out the full list of special trains during lockdown.
Railways start ‘Shramik Special’ Trains to move migrant workers, pilgrims, tourists, students and other persons stranded at different places due to lock down
Trains will be run from point to point on the request of both the concerned State Governmentshttps://t.co/XlDGtrmQXN pic.twitter.com/cFQkkZuZSS
— Ministry of Railways (@RailMinIndia) May 1, 2020
Railways issues guidelines for special train travel
- Special trains will be run from point to point on the request of both the concerned State Governments as per the standard protocols for sending and receiving such stranded persons. The Railways and State Govts shall appoint senior officials as Nodal Officers
- Passengers to be screened by sending states & only those found asymptomatic will be allowed. Sending State Govts will have to bring passengers in batches to the designated Railway Station in sanitized buses following social distancing norms&other precautions
- On arrival at the destination, passengers will be received by the State Government, who would make all arrangements for their screening, quarantine if necessary
Here’s Complete list of Trains Running During This Lockdown:
Out of the 6 special trains that were announced, one has already reached the destination. The special train carried 1200 passengers from Lingampalli, Telangana to Hatia, Jharkhand. 5 more special trains that have already started or soon to start from their starting stations include trains from –
- Nasik to Lucknow
- Aluva to Bhubaneswar
- Nasik to Bhopal
- Jaipur to Patna
- Kota to Hatia
How to book Shramik special trains during lockdown?
- Only the people identified and registered by the state government would be allowed to travel on these special trains. According to the MHA guidelines, bulk tickets for registered workers would be provided by the state itself. So there is no sale of train tickets for individuals.
- Stranded migrants, pilgrims, tourists, students, and other people across India can travel to their home states after contacting the nodal officer of their state and giving a valid reason for the travel.
- The Ministry of Railways has appointed nodal officers, who will act as a coordinating liaison between stranded passengers and the respective State/UT.
- The nodal officers would register all the stranded people within their State/UT. The passengers would be screened at the sending states and only asymptomatic people would be allowed to travel. The state governments will carry these people in sanitised buses to bring them to the sending station.
- The ticket fares would be borne by the respective state government and hence the passengers are told not to buy anything from the train as meals, water would be provided. For long-distance trains, the fare is inclusive of meals and water. After reaching the destination, passengers would receive food and water at their receiving station as well.
First Shramik special train, carrying 1225 workers from Lingampalli in Telangana reached Hatia in Jharkhand last night at 23.15 hrs#IndiaFightsCorona@PMOIndia @PiyushGoyal @SureshAngadi_ pic.twitter.com/6Pp8U7tAjW
— Ministry of Railways (@RailMinIndia) May 2, 2020
बिहार आने वाली श्रमिक स्पेशल ट्रेनों का शेड्यूल :
| ट्रेन | कहां से चलेगी | चलने की तारीख | पहुंचेगी | आएगी |
| बेंगलुरु दानापुर स्पेशल | बेंगलुरु | 3 May | दानापुर | 5 May |
| बेंगलुरु दानापुर श्रमिक स्पे. | बेंगलुरु | 3 May | दानापुर | 5 May |
| कोटा गया स्पेशल | कोटा | 3 May | गया | 4 May |
| कोटा बरौनी स्पेशल | कोटा | 3 May | बरौनी | 4 May |
Every state has facilitated the online registration process for people who are willing to move to their respective states. This is indeed a great initiative from Indian Railways. Railrecipe would urge everyone to stay safe during this travel and also follow strict social distancing guidelines as laid by MOHFW. Share your queries in comments and we will be glad to update you on every update from Indian Railways.