Indian Railways received an average fare of ₹600 per passenger for the over 60 lakh migrant labourers that it had moved, said Railway Board Chairman Vinod Kumar Yadav in a conference here today.

The national transporter has run 4,450 Shramik special trains so far, of which after May 26, there was a drop in demand, said Yadav.

However, Railways had asked States on June 14 (Sunday) to place their need to run such trains 24 hours in advance in the backdrop of falling demand for Shramik special trains after May 26, he said.

After June 3, the Railways, along with State governments has run 222 Shramik Special trains, more than what was initially estimated by the States, Yadav said adding that almost all migrant labourers have reached their destinations. But it has still asked the States to indicate the demand for trains.

By moving Shramik trains, it has earned revenues of ₹360 crore. Referring to the total revenue of ₹360 crore, officials maintained that this fare constituted a “recovery” of 15 per cent, when seen from national transporters’ perspective.

Railways is seeing lower demand in the 230 passenger trains, as indicated by the dearth of waitlisted passengers.

Indian Railways has started operating suburban passengers in Mumbai by handling about 700 passengers, lower than the 1,100 carrying capacity. The decision on running local trains in Kolkata and other places will be taken after discussions with the State government, added the Chairman.

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