Railways appeals to these people to avoid taking Shramik trains

The Indian Railways has advised certain categories of people, including those suffering from pre-existing health conditions, to avoid travelling by the Shramik Special trains meant for transporting stranded migrants to their home states.

This comes after at least nine passengers were reported dead on May 27 over a span of 48 hours on board these special migrant trains, with the Railways stating that all of them had pre-existing health conditions. The Shramik Special Trains are being run on a daily basis since May 1 throughout the country to ensure that migrants can travel back to their homes.

“It has been observed that some people who are availing this service have pre-existing medical conditions which aggravates the risk they face during the COVID-19 pandemic. A few unfortunate cases of deaths related to pre-existing medical conditions while travelling have happened,” the Railways said in a statement.

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“In order to protect vulnerable persons from COVID-19, the Ministry of Railways makes an appeal that persons with co-morbidities (for example – hypertension, diabetes, cardio vascular diseases, cancer, immune deficiency conditions), pregnant women, children below the age of 10 and persons above 65 years of age may avoid travel by rail, except when it is essential,” it said.

It also said that the railway family is working 24X7 to ensure that rail services are provided to all citizens of the country needing to travel. “We seek the cooperation of all citizens in this matter. In case of any distress or emergency please do not hesitate to reach out to your railway parivaar and we will help you as always (Helpline number – 139 & 138),” it said.

(With inputs from agencies)