KOCHI: In a huge relief to students and others stranded in Bengaluru, the railways is planning to start a Shramik Special train to Kerala. A decision in this regard will come in a day or two. However, no decision has been made regarding the running of daily trains between the two states as of now.
“The only daily train being run at present is the Rajadhani Express from New Delhi to Thiruvananthapuram and back,” said a senior railway official. According to him, the announcement made by the Chief Minister during his daily briefing might have been based on his talks with the Union Railway Minister. “However, no such information or order has been passed by the Railway Board. Also, for such a train to be run, the Karnataka government has to approach the Railways,” he said.
“The railways is more inclined to run Shramik trains since they are safer than the daily trains. The passengers are well documented and all their details are made available unlike those arriving in daily trains,” said the official. Meanwhile, an official with the Southern Railway headquarters in Chennai said, “the railways has already announced that train services will be resumed in a graded manner. Specific train services on any route will be notified and publicised as and when the decision is taken.”
Kerala-bound train to leave Delhi today
The special non-AC train to the state from New Delhi will depart on Wednesday. A list of 1,304 passengers has been prepared. They include 971 from New Delhi, 333 from UP, Jammu and Kashmir, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand. The CM said the Railways had informed the state about the operation of a daily train to the state from Bengaluru from Thursday.