Bhubaneswar, September 9: Starting September 12, three pairs of special trains will run from Odisha to various destinations, including Ahmadabad, Gandhidham and Okha, informed Union Minister Dharmendra Pradhan.
On Tuesday, Pradhan had written to Railway Minister Piyush Goyal seeking to restart Shramik Special trains from Odisha to States like Gujarat, Karnataka and Maharashtra to ferry migrant workers who had returned to their home state during the lockdown back to their workplaces.
“Three pairs of special train services starting 12th September on Puri-Ahmedabad, Puri-Gandhidham, Puri-Okha routes in addition to the Shramik specials & special trains already under operation will further ensure safe transport of people travelling to re-join work in different States,” tweeted Union Petroleum and Natural Gas and Steel Minister Pradhan, who hails from Odisha.
According to a notification of Ministry of Railways, Puri-Ahmadabad Express (02842/44) will run four days a week while Puri-Gandhidham Express (02973/74) and Puri-Okha Express (08401/02) will run on weekly basis from September 12.
The Centre had started operation of Shramik Special trains from May 1 for transportation of stranded migrant labourers during the lockdown period.
According to the Ministry of Railways, more than 63 lakh migrants were ferried in over 4,600 Shramik Special trains and the last Shramik train ran on July 9.
