New trains catering to migrant labourers to be flagged off before August 15

The new rains are expected to connect big and small cities in Bihar, Uttar Pradesh, Jharkhand, Punjab, West Bengal, Assam, Chhattisgarh, Odisha, Maharashtra, Delhi, and other locations, sources said. Zonal railways are creating paths for these trains which are going to be permanent fixtures in the time table. Two kinds of compositions are being contemplated; trains with unreserved general class seating and trains with a mix of general class seating and non-AC sleeper class.

“We have carried out a study to see which routes have perennial demands, especially from migrant labourers, and others who travel to and from big cities for work. A lot of demand for these classes remains unmet,” a senior Railway ministry official said. The railway ministry is sifting through demand data on routes over the past one year to determine the new trains.

Special trains or seasonal trains to meet temporary rush periods will be additional to these trains, officials said.

Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw informed the Lok Sabha that the railways have suffered a loss of around Rs 55 lakh due to stone-pelting on the marquee Vande Bharat trains since 2019.

Replying to a Lok Sabha query, Vaishnaw said that 151 persons involved in stone pelting have been arrested. No incidents leading to the loss of life, or theft or damage to passengers’ belongings have been reported, he said in a reply to a question in the Lok Sabha on Wednesday.