The Shramik Special carrying 1360 passengers departed at 12.20 hrs from Hubballi (Karnataka) to Jodhpur (Rajasthan). This is the second Shramik Special being operated from Hubballi Division.
All the passengers were medically screened in a temporary facility setup at railway parking area and were advised the norms to be followed enroute in train.
Before boarding the train all passengers were asked to wash the hands with alcohol based sanitisers duly maintaining the social distance.
Shri Arvind Malkhede, Divisional Railway Manager inspected the arrangements made and interacted with passengers on board and advised various precautions to be taken in view of COVID-19 outbreak.
Food and water bottles were provided to the passengers. All catering arrangements at Hubballi were done by the State Government of Karnataka. IRCTC has made arrangements of meals enroute at Miraj and Ahmedabad.
Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) have granted the permission for movement of the stranded people, including migrants labourers, workers, students, tourists to their native towns. SWR is transporting passengers to their destination only when there is a demand from the State Government with proper protocols. These special trains are being run from point to point with no stoppages enroute.
Care was taken to ensure social distancing when boarding and inside the trains. Train departed the Station only after all the passengers were medically examined by State Government and were issued medical certificate. Thermal screening was again done by Railway Medical Teams. None of the passengers were detected with high temperature. Frequent announcements were made regarding precautions to be taken to prevent the spread of Corona. Social distancing was ensured while boarding and in waiting areas.
An RPF team is escorting the train and details of passengers, coach wise with address and mobile Nos. have been obtained. Details have been digitalized and stored for contact tracing in future if required.
The Shramik Specials are being run from point to point only on the request of the State Government. Anyone who has to travel should contact the State Government only and No tickets are being issued at Railway Stations over SWR.
