Western Railway GM awarded all six divisions for successful running of Shramik special trains

To appreciate the efforts of Western Rly’s concerned officers & employees, Alok Kansal – General Manager of Western Railway has awarded all six divisions for their exemplary performance and endeavors in successful operation of 1229 Shramik special trains during lockdown. It was a moment of pride, on 20th May, 2020, when Western Railway ran 91 Shramik Special trains in a single day, creating a record of its own.

Starting from 2nd May to 20th June, 2020, Western Railway has successfully run 1,229 Shramik Special trains to ferry stranded migrant labourers and their families to their hometowns in different states of the country. The initiative of the Indian Railways has benefitted lakhs and lakhs of migrant workers and it was only possible with railway employees & officers displaying their dedication and hard work to make this a big success.

According to a press release issued by WR CPRO Ravinder Bhakar, till 20th June, 2020 W. Rly. has dispatched 1229 Shramik Special trains accounting for more than 28% of the total share of the Shramik Special trains over Indian Railways. These trains have provided respite to about 18.49 lakh distressed migrant labourers in the states of Gujarat, Maharashtra and Madhya Pradesh.

GM Alok Kansal in appreciation of this excellent work has awarded cash award to all the six divisions. The award sanctioned to Mumbai Division is Rs. 1 lakh, Vadodara Division of Rs. 50,000, Ahmedabad Division of Rs. 75,000, Rajkot Division of Rs. 50,000 and cash award of Rs. 25,000 each to Bhavnagar and Ratlam Divisions respectively. The running of Shramik Special trains will certainly be permanently marked in the history of Indian Railway and for the sacrifices and hardships of the railway employees who ensured smooth functioning of these trains.

It is pertinent to mention that the role of Western Rly in running of Shramik special trains was also appreciated by Minister of Railways Piyush Goyal & Chief Minister of Gujarat Vijaybhai Rupani. On 3rd June, 2020, CM Rupani felicitated and honoured five Divisions of WR for Western Railway’s excellent initiative and coordination in arranging the travel of migrant labourers and their families from Gujarat. He also conferred Divisional Rly Managers of Ahmedabad, Vadodara, Rajkot, Bhavnagar and Mumbai Central Divisions of Western Railway with appreciation trophies for the same.

CM of Gujarat also sent appreciation trophies to WR GM Alok Kansal and V. K. Yadav – Chaiman of Railway Board for their instrumental roles in successful operation of Shramik special trains. Minister of Railways Piyush Goyal has also appreciated the noble efforts of the Western Railway’s team who were behind the successful running of Shramik Special trains. It’s worth mentioning that out of the 1229 Shramik special trains, maximum trains were bound for Uttar Pradesh followed by Bihar.

The special Shramik trains were also operated to states of Orissa, Madhya Pradesh, Jharkhand, Chhattisgarh, Rajasthan, Uttarakhand, West Bengal, Gujarat, Manipur, Jammu & Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh, Telangana, Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Assam and Maharashtra. From 3rd May to 20th June, 2020, a total of 188 Shramik Special Trains have originated from various stations under Mumbai Suburban Section, including 69 Shramik special trains from Bandra Terminus, 73 from Borivali, 31 from Vasai Road, 2 from Dahanu Road and 13 from Palghar station. These trains were departed for Gorakhpur, Jaunpur , Gonda , Varanasi, Pratapgarh, Bhagalpur, Prayagraj, Darbhanga, Danapur, Howrah and others.

Out of these 1229 trains, Mumbai division has operated highest 716 trains, Ahmedabad division 260, Vadodara division 100, Bhavnagar division 30, Rajkot division 117 and Ratlam division 6 Shramik special trains. These special trains were operated by maintaining all social distancing norms, as well as proper thermal screening of passengers, was also ensured before boarding the train. During the journey, passengers were also given free meals and packaged drinking water.