New Delhi: The Railways has operated 642 Shramik Special trains since May 1, ferrying home eight lakh migrant workers who were stranded in various parts of the country due to the coronavirus-triggered lockdown, officials said on Wednesday.
Of these, Uttar Pradesh received the maximum number of trains (301), followed by Bihar (169), they said.
Among other states Madhya Pradesh received 53 trains, Jharkhand 40 trains, Odisha 38, Rajasthan 8, West Bengal 7, Chhattisgarh 6, and Uttarakhand 4 trains.
Andhra Pradesh, Jammu & Kashmir and Maharashtra received three trains each, while one train each terminated in Himachal Pradesh, Karnataka, Manipur, Mizoram, Tamil Nadu, Telangana and Tripura.
A proper screening of the passengers is carried out before they board the trains, the Railways has said, adding during the journey, the passengers are given free meals and water.
From Monday, these 'Shramik Special' trains started carrying around 1,700 passengers each, instead of the earlier 1,200, to ferry as many workers home as possible.
While initially these trains had no stoppages, the Railways announced on Monday that up to three stoppages in the destination states will be allowed.
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The decision was taken after several state governments made a request in this regard, officials said.