Route congestion issue sorted out: Railways

‘Issue due to convergence of routes’

Following concerns over several instances of diversion of Shramik Special trains bound for Uttar Pradesh and Bihar, the Indian Railways on Monday said the issue of congestion on these routes had now been sorted out.

On Saturday, replying to queries on a Gorakhpur (Uttar Pradesh)-bound Shramik Special train from Maharashtra reaching Odisha, the Railways had said that with 80% of Shramik Special trains going to Uttar Pradesh and Bihar, there was network congestion on the routes, hence, some trains were diverted to alternative routes. “The rail route congestion which was being witnessed on May 23-24, is over. The congestion had occurred due to the convergence of more than two-third rail traffic on routes to Bihar and Uttar Pradesh and late clearance of the terminals due to health protocols etc., that needed to be completed by State authorities,” the Railways said on Monday.

It said the matter had been resolved through “active consultation” with the State governments and also finding other feasible routes for the journey.

It added that as on May 25, till 10 a.m., 3,060 Shramik Special trains had been operated from various States, carrying more than 40 lakh passengers. “Out of the 3,060 Shramik Special trains, 2,608 have been terminated, 453 trains are running. On May 24, 237 Shramik Specials were run, moving 3.1 lakh passengers,” it said.

As per data shared, the top five States from where maximum trains originated are Gujarat (853), Maharashtra (550), Punjab (333), Uttar Pradesh (221) and Delhi (181). Maximum trains terminated at Uttar Pradesh (1,245), followed by Bihar (846), Jharkhand (123), Madhya Pradesh (112) and Odisha (73).

Office shut

Meanwhile, the Railway Ministry office in the national capital has been shut for the next two days “to carry out intensive sanitisation of rooms and common areas” after a staff member tested positive for coronavirus on Monday. In addition, the fourth floor of the building will remain closed till Friday for thorough disinfection.