Purvanchal Express - Poorvottar ka Sikandar

30-05-2020
In the fight against the novel Coronavirus, many lives have been uprooted. Amid this, Indian Railways took initiative to bring stranded labourers back to the care of their homes in villages across the nation. Contributing to this virtuous initiative, Western Railway has successfully run 1162 Shramik Special trains till 28th May, 2020, across the country resulting in around 17.42 lakh migrant labourers and their families reaching their home states.
According to a press release issued by Shri Ravinder Bhakar - Chief Public Relations Officer of Western Railway, out of these special trains,...
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run to ferry migrant labourers, 673 trains were bound to Uttar Pradesh, 269 to Bihar, 86 to Orissa, 31 to Madhya Pradesh, 41 to Jharkhand, 16 to Chhattisgarh, 8 to Rajasthan, 6 to Uttarakhand& 15 to West Bengal states. The special Shramik trains were also bound to states of Gujarat, Manipur, J&K, Himachal Pradesh, Telengana, Andhra Pradesh, Tamilnadu, Kerala, Assam and Maharashtra. A total of about 17.42 lakh passengers have been ferried to their homes in different states of the country from 2ndMay, 2020 to 28th May, 2020. Shri Bhakar stated that these Shramik Special trains have helped in facilitating faster movement of stranded labourers and their families to their native places. o­n 28th May, 2020, 34 Shramik Special trains were bound to states of Uttar Pradesh (15 trains), Bihar (5 trains), , Orissa (7 trains), West Bengal (4 trains) and o­ne each for Jharkhand, Gujarat and Assam. Out of these, Mumbai Division handled 29 trains, including 12 trains which were run from Mumbai Suburban section of Western Railway. Six trains were run from Borivali station and three trains each from Bandra Terminus and Vasai Road stations. From 3rd May to 28th May, 2020, a total of 158 Shramik Special Trains have originated from Mumbai Suburban Section including 61 Shramik special trains from Bandra Terminus, 57 from Borivali, 26 from Vasai Rd, 2 from Dahanu Rd and 12 from Palghar station. These trains were bound to Gorakhpur, Jaunpur , Gonda , Varanasi, Pratapgarh, Bhagalpur, Prayagraj, Darbhanga, Danapur, Howrah etc. Thesespecial trains were operatedwith maintaining social distancing norms. Under the guidelines of Ministry of Home Affairs, proper thermal screening of passengers have been ensured before boarding the train. During the journey, passengers are also being given free meals and packaged drinking water.In order to protect the vulnerable persons from COVID-19, in line with Ministry of Home Affairs, Order No 40-3/2020-DM-I(A) dated 17.05.2020, Ministry of Railways has alsomade 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 years and persons above 65 years of age should avoid travel by rail, except when it is essential.
FEEDING THE NEEDY & HUNGRY
Western Railway in coordination with IRCTC is taking special care of the needy and poor persons by providing free food.Several NGOs and Trusts have also extended their generosity to help the needy across the Western Railway jurisdiction. With the Corona virus getting people to stopgoing to work and people facing shortage of financial and other resources, IRCTCgeared up it's base kitchens in Mumbai Central and Ahmedabad stations for preparing distress meals in huge quantities for the poor and needy people. Shri Bhakar stated thatupto 29th May 2020, almost 6 lakh persons were fed by providing free meals. The meals were being distributed over all the six divisions of WR by WR's commercial department,RPF, IRCTC, Catering contractors, Charitable Trusts and NGOs. o­n 29th May 2020 almost 750 meals comprising of lunch and dinner has been distributed o­n WR. Food packets & packaged drinking water bottles have also beendistributed to about 17.42 lakh passengers of shramik special trains departed from various stations of Western Rly.
WR CONTINUES ITS TRANSPORTATION OF GOODS AND ESSENTIAL commodities
Shri Bhakar stated that since 22nd March to 28th May, 2020, total 4880 rakes of goods trains have been used to supply essential commodities amounting to 9.97 million tonnes. 9613 freight trains were interchanged with other railways, including 4829 trains handed over and 4784 trains taken over at different interchange points. 287 Millennium Parcel rakes of Parcel Vans / Railway Milk Tankers (RMTs) have been sent to different parts of the country to cope with the demands of essential materials such as milk powder, liquid milk, medical supplies and other general consumer goods.It's worth mentioning, that since 23rd March to 28th May 2020, commodities weighing approx 44 thousand tonnes have been transported by Western Rly through its 286 parcel special trains, which included agricultural produce, medicines, fish, milk etc. The earnings generated through this transportation, has been approx Rs 13.63 crore.Under this transportation, thirty four milk special trains were run by Western Rly, with a load of more than 25 thousand tonnes and 100% utilization of the wagons, generating revenue of approx Rs 4.31 crore. Similarly, 248 Covid-19 parcel special trains were also run to transport essential commodities, for which the revenue earned was more than Rs 8.55 crore. In addition to this, 4 indented rakes were also run with 100% utilization for earnings of approximately Rs. 78lakh. Shri Bhakar informed that five parcel special trains left from WR for various parts of the country, including a milk rake o­n 29th May, 2020 viz Bandra Terminus - Okha, Okha – Bandra Terminus, Palanpur – Salchapra and Karambeli – New Guwahati special trains. o­ne milk rake left from Palanpur for Hind Terminal. He stated that the total loss of earnings over Western Railway inclusive of suburban & non - suburban sections, since March, 2020, has been Rs 1076.35 crore o­n account of lockdown. Inspite of this, resulting to the cancellation of tickets till now, Western Railway has ensured to return refund amount ofRs 289.08 crore. It's worth mentioning that in this refund amount, Mumbai division alone, has ensured refund of Rs 137.69 crore. Till now, 44.29 lakh passengers have cancelled their tickets over entire Western Railway & have received their refund amount accordingly.
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30-05-2020
Limited train operations will commence with special train services being scheduled to run between various destinations from 1st June, 2020, as already notified. Keeping in view, the steps being taken to curb the spread of Covid-19 virus, rail passengers intending to travel by these special train services are advised to adhere to the following:

vRail...
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passengers travelling by special trains should reach their boarding railway station atleast 90 minutes before the scheduled departure of the train.
vPassengers are requested to travel with minimal / light luggage for added convenience, since availability of railway licensed porters will be minimal.
vPassengers shall not board the trains without an authorized journey ticket. Checks will be conducted to ensure that no unauthorized person enters the railway station premises or boards the trains.
vTo the extent possible, separate entry and exit gates will be ear marked at railway stations and passengers may accordingly make use of the same for smooth movement.
vRail passengers have to mandatorily undergo thermal screening at the railway stations, towards which they shall co-operate. o­nly passengers who are found asymptomatic will be permitted to travel.
vDuring screening, if a passenger is found to be symptomatic of Covid-19 virus, they shall not be allowed to travel. In such case, full refund of ticket fare will be provided to passengers.
vPersons with co-morbidities (for example - hypertension, diabetes, cardio-vascular diseases, cancer, immune deficiency conditions), pregnant women, children below the age of 10 years and persons above 65 years of age may avoid travel, except if it is essential.
vRail passengers are provided with Sanitizers for use at entry and exit points of railway stations. They shall also make use of face masks without fail during the entire journey
vRailway staff including ticket checking personnel will be available o­n board the special trains and in case of any need / emergency, passengers can approach them for redressal / remedial action.
vFrequent cleaning / sanitizing of passenger utility areas like waiting halls, toilets and concourse etc will be undertaken by railways. Passengers are requested to maintain cleanliness and hygiene, so as to enable best upkeep of the railway station premises & trains.
vNo Linen / Blankets etc., will be provided inside the trains and passengers are requested to make their own arrangements.
vPassengers are encouraged to carry their own food and drinking water. Catering and Vending units at stations will remain open. In case of food plaza and refreshment rooms etc., cooked items will be served as take away o­nly, with no sit-down eating arrangements in place.
vAll passengers shall download and use the Aarogya Setu App.
vNo unreserved tickets will be issued for these special trains.
vAll traveling passengers shall note that o­n arrival at their destination, they will have to adhere to such health protocols as are prescribed by the Destination State / Union Territory. State Government advisories in this regard can be accessed o­n the website of either IRCTC (www.irctc.co.in) or the concerned State Governments
(like www.chfw.telangana.gov.in for Telangana, www.hmfw.ap.gov.infor Andhra Pradesh, etc).
(Ch.Rakesh)
Chief Public Relations Officer

29-05-2020
Indian Railways has been running Shramik special Trains o­n a daily basis 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.
In order to protect the vulnerable persons from COVID-19, in line with Ministry of Home Affairs, Order No 40-3/2020-DM-I(A) dated 17.05.2020, Ministry of Railways makes an...
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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 years and persons above 65 years of age may avoid travel by rail, except when it is essential.
Indian Railway parivaar is working 24 x 7 to ensure that rail services are provided to all the citizens of the country needing to travel. But safety of our passengers is our biggest concern. So, 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).

29-05-2020
Ministry of Railways has decided to increase the advance reservation period (ARP) of all Specials notified from 30 days to 120 days
Booking of Parcel and luggage shall be permitted in all these 230 trains
The above changes shall be implemented with effect from 08:00 hrs of train booking date of 31st May 2020 o­nwards
Indian...
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Railways has modified instructions for 30 special Rajdhani type trains started w.e.f. 12.05.2020 and 200 Special Mail Express to be introduced w.e.f. 01.06.2020 (total 230 trains). Ministry of Railways has decided to increase the advance reservation period (ARP) of all Specials notified from 30 days to 120 days. Booking of Parcel and luggage shall be permitted in all these 230 trains.
The above changes shall be implemented with effect from 08:00 hrs of train booking date of 31st May 2020 o­nwards.
Other terms e.g., Current booking, Tatkal quota allocation of seats to road side stations etc to be same as in regular time tabled trains. These instructions can also be viewed o­n the Indian Railways website-www.indianrailways.gov.in under the head commercial circulars in Traffic Commercial Directorate.
(Ch.Rakesh)
Chief Public Relations Officer

In the wake of thelockdown to contain the spread of the deadly Coronavirus, Western Railway's staff from various departments displayed grit and commitment through their exemplary services. Western Railway not o­nly continued to work at large by ensuring that essential commodities may be made available across the nation in this dire situation, but during this difficult time, Western Railway in coordination with IRCTC is also taking special care of the needy and poor persons, who reside near various station premises by providing free food.Several NGOs and Trusts have extended their generosity to help the needy across the Western Railway jurisdiction. With the Corona virus getting people to stopgoing to work and people facing shortage of financial and other resources, IRCTCgeared up it's base kitchens in Mumbai Central and Ahmedabad stations for preparing distress meals in huge quantities for the poor and needy people.
According...
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to a press release issued by Shri Ravinder Bhakar - Chief Public Relations Officer of Western Railway, upto 28th May 2020, almost 6 lakh persons were fed by providing free meals and ensuring that they were not left without food in this difficult time. Free meals were being distributed over all the six divisions of WR by WR's commercial department,RPF, IRCTC, Charitable Trusts and NGOs. IRCTC’s base kitchen in Mumbai Central has prepared approx. 1.55 lakh free meals, whereas its base kitchen in Ahmedabad prepared above 1.05 lakh free meals for distribution. Mumbai Central division provided more than 2.15 lakh meals, whereasAhmedabad division provided above 2.66 lakh meal packets. Vadodara division provided about 77000 meals and Ratlam, Rajkot and Bhavnagar division provided approx. 12000 free meals each to the needy persons. This noble cause began from 29th March, 2020 with various NGOsand Charitable Trusts also chipping in. Some of the NGOs who have contributed towards this worthy cause were Ratna Nidhi Charitable Trust, Mumbai; Jain Sangh, Vapi; Sahakar Charitable Trust, Valsad;Jay Manav Sewa Pariwar Trust, Nadiad;Ram Roti Society, Dahod; Mahakaal Prabandh Samiti, Ujjain; Chamunda Mata Mandir Samiti, Ujjain; Indian Relief Foundation, Nimach and Kashyap Foundation, Ratlam.As per Shri Bhakar, it is noteworthy that not just the needy were fed, but the passengers who travelled by the Shramik special trains were also taken care of by WR and provided free meals during their travel. 16.87 lakh passengers leaving from various stations under WR's jurisdiction, have been benefitted by this missiondistribution of free meal & packaged drinking water bottles in Shramik special trains. Thus in all, almost 23 lakh persons till now have been provided with free meals & water bottles over Western Rly.

SHRAMIK SPECIALS RUN BY WR
Western Rly has operated 1128 SHRAMIK SPLtrains from 2.5.2020 to 27.5.2020, which have carried approx. 16.87 lakh passengers to their desired destinations. o­n 27th May, 2020, WR operated 30 Shramik Specials which were bound forUP (19), Orissa (7), West Bengal (2) and Jharkhand (2). Mumbai Division handled 25 of these Shramik specials. WR despatched theseSHRAMIK SPL trains following all norms and social distancing.
ESSENTIALS TRANSPORTED BY WR
Shri Bhakar stated that sine 22nd March to 28th May, 2020, total 4807 rakes of goods trains also have been used to supply essential commodities amounting to 9.79 million tonnes. 9467 freight trains were interchanged with other railways, including 4757 trains handed over and 4710 trains taken over at different interchange points. 283 Millennium Parcel rakes of Parcel Vans / Railway Milk Tankers (RMTs) have been sent to different parts of the country to cope with the demands of essential materials such as milk powder, liquid milk, medical supplies and other general consumer goods.It's worth mentioning, that since 23rd March to 27th May 2020, commodities weighing more than 43 thousand tonnes have been transported by Western Rly through its 282 parcel special trains, which included agricultural produce, medicines, fish, milk etc. Theearnings generated through this transportation, has been approx Rs 13.13 crore.Under this transportation, thirty four milk special trains were run by Western Rly, with a load of more than 25 thousand tonnes and 100% utilization of the wagons, generating revenue of approx Rs 4.31 crore. Similarly, 244 Covid-19 parcel special trains were also run to transport essential commodities, for which the revenue earned was more than Rs 8.05 crore. In addition to this, 4 indented rakes were also run with 100% utilization for earnings of approximately Rs. 78 lakh. Shri Bhakar informed that four parcel special trains left from WR for various parts of the country o­n 28thMay, 2020 viz Porbandar – Shalimar,Bandra Terminus - Ludhiana, Palanpur – Jorhat Town and Dewas – Rajendra Nagar special trains. He stated that the total loss of earnings over Western Railway inclusive of suburban & non - suburban sections, since March, 2020, has been Rs 1061.36 crore o­n account of lockdown. Inspite of this, resulting to the cancellation of tickets till now, Western Railway has ensured to return refund amount ofRs 286.75 crore. It's worth mentioning that in this refund amount, Mumbai division alone, has ensured refund of Rs 136.80 crore. Till now, 43.94 lakh passengers have cancelled their tickets over entire Western Railway & have received their refund amount accordingly.
MASKS AND SANITIZERS BEING PREPARED IN-HOUSE BY WR
Shri Bhakar informed that upto 27th May 2020, more than 1.59 lakh masks and more than 21000 liters of sanitizers have been prepared inhouse by WR's divisions and workshops during the lockdown period. Mumbai Central division of WR made a record42000 masks, followed by Dahod workshop with 39700 and Ratlam division with 37130 masks. Ratlam division prepared the highest quantity of sanitizer, having made 10500 liters. Other divisions & workshops of Western Rly have also actively contributed in the important activity of in-house preparation of masks & sanitizer.These masks and sanitizers are being used in the divisions and workshops by all. Staff are encouraged to maintain maximum precautions by use of masks and frequent use of sanitizers to keep them safe. It is worth mentioning that so manyfamilies of railway employees too have contributed in making masks for the safety of WR’s fraternity.