The exercise between various zones of Indian Railways and the various state governments – operation of Shramik Specials – to ferry labour force back to their home towns from various places in the country has been a largely successful exercise.
Over 4,500 trains have ferried more than 60 lakh people back to their home states.
What went into the entire exercise? We spoke to a top railway official to understand the background preparations that were required from their side to run these trains.
Our first meeting with the State Government – the Government of Karnataka – was on the first of May. The requirements were confirmed on May 2, and the first rakes departed on May 3
A K Verma, Divisional Railway Manager, Bengaluru Division, South Western Railway
Till June 17, SWR had operated a total of 240 Shramik Special trains ferrying more than 3.50 lakh passengers.
Breakup of Shramik Special Trains Dispatched by South Western Railway
| Sl. No. | State | No. of Trains | No. of Passengers |
| 1 | Bihar | 77 | 1,13,337 |
| 2 | Uttar Pradesh | 52 | 75,248 |
| 3 | West Bengal | 27 | 40,395 |
| 4 | Jharkhand | 21 | 30,962 |
| 5 | Odisha | 16 | 24,357 |
| 6 | Assam | 16 | 24,881 |
| 7 | Rajasthan | 8 | 10,837 |
| 8 | Madhya Pradesh | 5 | 7,085 |
| 9 | Tripura | 4 | 5,704 |
| 10 | Uttarakhand | 3 | 3,863 |
| 11 | Jammu & Kashmir | 3 | 2,950 |
| 12 | Manipur | 2 | 3,090 |
| 13 | Chhattisgarh | 2 | 2,557 |
| 14 | Himachal Pradesh | 1 | 643 |
| 15 | Kerala | 1 | 1,496 |
| 16 | Mizoram | 1 | 1,456 |
| 17 | Nagaland | 1 | 1,507 |
| Total | 240 | 3,50,368 |
With the information received from GoK a day in advance, Bengaluru Division planned for the departures the next day.
We had staggered the departures from smaller stations like Malur and Chikkabanawar to avoid large crowds and social distancing issues.
A K Verma, DRM, Bengaluru Division, SWR
He adds, “The GoK sent us passengers screened in advance and ferried them in buses to the railhead.”
Arranging of Rakes for Shramik Special Trains
From the Railways side, there was a lot to prepare for the departure of each train. “Yes, we had to remove the AC coaches from most trains parked at the coaching depots and made rakes of 24 non-AC coaches,” informs Shri Verma. They had no problems arranging crew and locomotives.
SWR managed to put together 20 rakes formed by the above method. “We knew that the rakes would take at least four to five days to return to base and get ready for the next service. Southern and South Central zones too helped us with their rakes when we required them – at the peak, we ran 12 specials a day,” comments Shri Verma.
Southern and South Central zones too helped us with their rakes when we required them – at the peak, we ran 12 specials a day.
A K Verma, DRM Bengaluru Division, SWR
“Since UP and Bihar were net receivers of rakes, the zones serving these states were able to spare rakes for specials. Again, at the peak, Western Railway operated up to 60 specials a day,” adds Shri Verma. Apparently, the rake management was meticulously planned by the Railway Board.
Food and Water Provisions For The Trip
Moreover, close coordination with other zones and the timing of trains had to be done minutely. “We had to communicate with various zones about the dispatch and the handing over timings, besides ensuring that the trains reached reasonably large stations for watering and food supply for the passengers,” Shri Verma explains about the planning.
What the Bengaluru Division did one better was on the food and other facilities for the passengers. “We got some information that food en route was sometimes not available in the initial days of the special trains and decided to do something about it. We were lucky to have a few service-oriented NGOs who contributed food and labour to ensure these passengers travelled comfortably,’ he says.
Packed food like vegetable biryani, chapathis, vegetables, pickles, etc. were standard rations for the passengers. Dry items like theplas, bread, biscuits, buns, namkeens, etc, and fruits were also given by some NGOs.
Special Treats for Children
“When we saw a lot of forlorn faces of children undertaking the journey, we thought to do something about it,” says the DRM. The railway officials bought a few plastic toys for children on the first two days or so.
“It was then that an officer suggested Channapatna toys – these are unique to this part of the world and also have GI Tag. We bought those in the local market and distributed to the children on the first two days. Later on, we managed to source directly from Channapatna and an NGO volunteered to sponsor these. We were really satisfied to put the smile back on the faces of the children,” he says.
Is there anything that the railways forgot to do? Almost nothing at all. “We even had pairs of new footwear ready if any passenger turned up barefooted,” signs off the DRM.