The Railways Ministry on Monday, 11 May, decided that the special ‘Shramik’ trains used to ferry migrant workers will now have 1,700 passengers on board, instead of the current 1,200.
An order has been issued where the Railway zones have been asked to provide three stoppages in the destination state, this is excluding the final stop. This was done because of a request put in by state governments.
These special trains have 24 coaches, with a capacity of 72 passengers per coach. But due to the social distancing norms, each coach takes 54 passengers. The Indian Railways has been able to transport around one lakh people since 1 May.
The Railways has been running 366 ‘shramik’ trains since 1 May, ferrying around four lakh migrants back to their respective home states.
The Karnataka government had earlier suspended the train services for migrant workers who wanted to return home. By the time the government reversed its decision thousands of migrant workers were already walking home
(With inputs from PTI)
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