Over 57 lakh migrants traveled in over 4,100 'Shramik' special trains since May 1

New Delhi: The Indian Railways has operated 4,155 Shramik special trains in the past one month transporting over 57 lakh migrants, the railway ministry said on Tuesday.

Of these trains, almost 40% terminated in Uttar Pradesh, while 35% went to Bihar.

The ministry of railways on May 1, began operating Shramik special trains meant for transporting stranded migrants back to their home States amid the Covid-19 outbreak.

Of the total migrants that traveled in these trains, more than fifty lakh were transported in May, the ministry said.

The top five states where maximum trains terminated are Uttar Pradesh(1670 Trains), Bihar(1482 Trains), Jharkhand(194 Trains), Odisha (180 Trains), West Bengal (135 Trains), while most number of trains originated from Gujarat(1027 Trains), Maharashtra(802 Trains), Punjab(416 Trains), Uttar Pradesh (288 Trains) and Bihar (294 Trains).

“It may be noted that trains running now are not facing any congestion,” the ministry said. Between May 20-24, reports of excessive congestion on the railway network emerged, with the national transporter having to reroute 71 trains.

At a recent press briefing, railway board chairman VK Yadav said that these trains were diverted because of congestion on the routes towards Uttar Pradesh and Bihar.

“90% trains run between May 20-May 24 went to UP and Bihar, leading to congestion of the network. We diverted these turns to meet the requirements of originating States,” Yadav had said.

The demand for these trains has, however, is now coming down gradually, Yadav said. As of Tuesday morning, 102 trains were on the run the ministry said.