They will facilitate the return of stranded migrants

The Railways will operate five Shramik special trains from Kerala to Jharkhand and Bihar on Saturday to facilitate the return of migrants stranded due to the COVID-19-induced lockdown.
The trains, all with 24 sleeper class coaches and two Seating cum Luggage Rakes (SLRs), will commence from Thiruvanthapuram Central, Ernakulam Town, Aluva Tirur and Kozhikode railway stations. Of the five trains, three are to Jharkhand and two to Bihar.
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The train from Thiruvananthapuram Central to Hatia in Jharkhand is scheduled for 2 p.m. The train from Aluva to Khurba Road is at 5 p.m. and the second one is to Danapur, both in Bihar, at 7 p.m., a top railway official told The Hindu.
The special train from Kozhikode to Ranchi, the capital of Jharkhand, will leave at 3 p.m. The Shramik Special from Tirur in Malappuram district to Patna, the capital of Bihar, is scheduled for 5 p.m. The rake for the special had already left Mangalaru junction for Tirur, railway sources in Palakkad division said.
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The District Collectors and District Police Chiefs of Thiruvananthapuram, Ernakulam, Malappuram and Kozhikode have commenced steps to bring the migrants from the camps where they are staying after health screening and registration.
As in the case of the first Shramik Special operated from Aluva to Odisha on Friday, the railways will hand over the tickets to the respective District Collectors, who will have to pay the money to the railways after collecting them from the travellers. The Shramik Special can accommodate 1,142 travellers in 24 coaches as social distancing norms had to be followed.
Meals and drinking water will be provided to the passengers at the originating station. The Railways will provide meals during the journey with the assistance of the IRCTC and the commuters will not be allowed to alight en route. Railway Protection Force (RPF) and Government Railway Police (GRP) personnel will travel in the five special trains to ensure safety.
On arrival at the destination, the receiving State government will make all arrangements for the screening of arriving passengers and for quarantining them if necessary and their further travel from the railway station to destinations within States.
Divisional Railway Manager, Thiruvananthapuram, Shirish Kumar Sinha said the Railway Board had made it clear that the rakes of Shramik Specials will return empty.
In Kerala, 3.6 lakh migrant labourers hailing from West Bengal, Odisha, Bihar, Uttar Pradesh and Assam are held up in 20 labour camps across the State since the lockdown began on March 25.