Watch out for the possibility of sectarian feuds and troublemakers on board and keep an eye on the behaviour of the passengers — these are some of the guidelines issued to the zonal railways running ‘Shramik Special’ trains .
Having already run 67 such trains since Friday, the Railways has now issued detailed guidelines on the security and sanitisation protocols to be followed.
While the Railways has officially not stated how much it has spent so far on these services, which the government says has been shared on a 85:15 ratio with the States , officials indicated that for the first 34 trains, the national transporter spent ₹24 crore, while the States spent ₹3.5 crore.
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The Railways, in its guidelines issued on Monday, has divided the protocols into three broad sections – originating station, destination station and on board the trains. It has also spoken about the security arrangements that need to be made at all entry and exit points at the stations as well as on the trains.
“Enhanced presence of security personnel. Hiring of ex-servicemen, home guards, private security etc.,. Close interaction with intelligence agencies will be maintained to ascertain any possibility of a sectarian feud or group conflict among the passengers. In the event of information about any such possibility, suitable precautions may be taken such as enhanced presence of security personnel at the origin, enroute and destinations.
Migrant workers, other stranded people to pay ₹50 more to get home
“Intensive watch on the behaviour of the passengers will be kept and any troublemakers identified and separated from the group. In the event of increased hostility, State police may be informed to intervene as soon as possible,” the guidelines said.
The Railways also stated that sanitisation of trains has to be done both at the originating and the destination stations.
Liquid soap is to be made available and minimal staff accommodated on board the trains for cleaning toilets, it said.
The Railways, which is still dealing with allegations that it was charging migrants for these train services, has so far ferried nearly 67,000 stranded people.
The national transporter is charging the fare of sleeper class tickets in mail/express trains, plus a super-fast charge of ₹30 and an additional charge of ₹20 for the Shramik Special trains.
