'Only 4 trains out of 3,840 Shramik trains have taken over 72 hours to reach': Railways

Amid a report of Shramik Special train bound to Bihar's Madhubani from Mumbai reaching Odisha’s Rourkela without intimating the passengers about the change in the route, the Railways on Friday clarified that only four out of 3,840 trains have taken over 72 hours to reach their destination. "90 per cent trains have been run with an average speed higher than normal mail express trains," said Vinod Kumar Yadav, Chairman, Railway Board.

Yadav said that a report of a train reaching Bihar's Siwan from Surat in nine days is fake. The train reached in two days, he said. The Railways had already said that the report was "filled with errors and half-truths".

The Railways further said that despite the difficulties due to the COVID-19 pandemic, they were trying their best in resolving issues and supplying food and water to all passengers. They added that the State govts provided food and water at the starting stations, while the IRCTC and Railway Divisions arranged meals and water for migrants in trains en-route.

"Shramik Special trains will continue to run till the time the migrants don't reach their destinations. We will schedule the trains on the same day as we get demand from originating state and we will run the train on the next day itself," Yadav added.

He further said that the demand for 'Shramik Special' trains is gradually coming down. "Requirement of states as on May 24 was 923 trains, as per requirement yesterday, the figure is now 449 trains," Yadav said.

A total of 52 lakh passengers have been moved through 3,840 Shramik Special trains till yesterday, said Yadav.