The letter from West Bengal Chief Secretary Rajiva Sinha to Chairman of Railway board V K Yadav dated May 22, stated that the state has been severely impacted by Super Cyclone Amphan on May 20-21 which caused extensive damage to the infrastructure.
The clarifications came amid criticism over delays that the migrant trains were getting 'lost' before reaching their destinations. Till May 28, Yadav said, 3,840 Shramik Specials operated ferrying a total of 52 lakh passengers.
Revenue from freight operations also increased by 14 per cent to Rs 9,903 crore in September.
On these routes, the train speed would also be increased to above 160 kmph over the next four or five years by revamping the entire signaling, tracks and fencing.
The projects - Delhi-Varanasi, Mumbai-Nagpur, Delhi-Ahmedabad, Chennai-Mysore, Delhi-Amritsar, Mumbai-Hyderabad, and Varanasi-Howrah - are expected to cost around Rs 10 trillion.
The Railways has drawn up a schedule to operate 2,600 Shramik Special trains over the next 10 days across the country to ferry around 36 lakh migrant workers, stranded due to the COVID-19 lockdown, to their home states, Chairman of the Railway Board V K Yadav said on Saturday.
'The rail network all across the state of Punjab is presently totally clear for uninterrupted movement of goods trains,' a home department statement said in Chandigarh. However, hours after the Punjab government's statement, the Railways accused it of 'misguiding' people over the extent of blockade of rail tracks in the state by the protesting farmers.
A day after Cyclone Yaas tore through coastal Odisha and Bengal to cause havoc as far as Jharkhand, tornadoes, torrential rains, bridge collapses and swelling rivers continued to plague eastern India as people tried to pick up their lives amid the debris of swept away mud homes and swamped farmlands.
The key factor in deciding the 80 new trains was the fact that there were many stations from where the migrant workers are going back to their workplace.
The Indian Railways is replacing its outdated signalling system with the latest automated train protection technologies - European Train Control System and Train Collision Avoidance System.
'The people, media and politicians are ready to listen to the troubles of Kangana Ranaut, but we are unwanted lives in the heart of Delhi.' Shine Jacob reports.
Under the plan, there will be 151 private trains covering 109 routes which may entail investments worth Rs 30,000 crore.
The top court also directed authorities to consider withdrawing all cases against migrant workers for alleged violation of lockdown norms under the Disaster Management Act.
A total of 1,177 passengers are booked on the New Delhi-Bilaspur special train, which departed at 4 pm, while 1,122 passengers are booked on the New Delhi-Dibrugarh special train that departed at 4:45 pm.
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