During the lockdown period due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Indian Railways is running Shramik special trains
These special trains are being run by the national transporter for stranded migrants, students, tourists, and pilgrims, in coordination with the various state governments
As per Indian Railways, the fares for these trains will be collected from the state governments
The Central Govt is being criticized for not running special trains free of cost
So how the states are paying?
1) Railway Ministry is saying that 85% of the cost of running these trains is being borne by Indian Railways
2) Indian Railways is charging only a standard fare for this class from state governments which is just 15 percent of the total cost incurred by the national transporter
3) As per Indian Railways, these trains are running at much less than their capacity, with social distancing norms being maintained between the passenger
Is there any sale of tickets?
-Train tickets are not being sold to migrants and Indian Railways is only boarding passengers based on the lists provided by states
-As per the Railway Ministry statement, the national transporter is only accepting passengers ‘brought’ and ‘facilitated’ by the state governments
-No other group of travelers or individuals have been allowed to come to railway stations
On What Basis The Fares Are Finalised?
-The fare for these Shramik special trains will include charges for Sleeper Mail Express + Superfast train charge of Rs 30 + an additional charge of Rs 20
-This includes drinking water as well as meals for long-distance trains
Why The Railway Ministry Is Charging Fares?
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-As per Railway Board Chairman VK Yadav, the call to not run trains for free is a conscious one so that only those for whom travel is essential can take the train journeys
Controversial Point on Rail Fare:
- Railway Ministry statement says that the sending state has to pay the consolidated fare to Indian Railways. The cost may be borne by the sending state, or taken from the passengers by the sending state, or after mutual consultation with the receiving state. Indian Railways is only issuing tickets to passengers decided by the sending state government
Bihar CM Nitish Kumar Exposes Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal On Railfare
-Gopal Rai, AAP leader and Labour Minister of the Delhi Government claimed that Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal would bear the cost of 1200 migrant labourers, travelling via Sramik Express from Delhi to their hometown in Muzaffarpur in Bihar
-Janata Dal (United) leader, Dr. Ajay Alok took to Twitter to slam Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal for misleading migrant workers about paying their train fares for the Shramik Express
-He shared a letter from the Department of Social Welfare of the Delhi Government wherein it becomes clear that the State is only facilitating the travel of migrant workers but not ensuring a “free journey”
Congress Sponsors Rail fare
- Congress President Sonia Gandhi promised to sponsor the rail journeys of migrants going home
-She said that post-partition, this is the first time India witnessed a tragedy of such massive human cost
First Shramik Special Train:
- Indian Railways had operated its first special train for migrant workers on May 1 as a pilot project
- The 24-coach train, which started its journey at 5:00 am to Hatia in Jharkhand from Telangana's Lingampally, had carried around 1,200 migrants
Present Scenario:
-Till May 9, Railways run over 300 Shramik Special trains for 3.4 lakh migrant workers