NEW DELHI: The Indian Railways will charge state governments Rs 50 extra per passenger for ferrying people in its ''Shramik Special'' trains stranded due to the coronavirus-triggered lockdown.

In an order issued on Friday, the Railway Board directed various railway regions including Southern Railway to charge Rs 50 extra in addition to the cost of the sleeper class fare. Rs 50 comprises superfast charge of Rs 30 and Rs 20 for meals and water per passenger.

After more than a month of suspension of services, the railways on Friday, which is also International Labour Day, announced six "Shramik Special" trains for migrant workers, students and others who were stranded due to the lockdown.

The first such service was run with 1,200 passengers from Hyderabad to Jharkhand at 4:50 am on Friday. The other five which are scheduled to run include -- Nasik to Lucknow (at 9:30 pm), Aluva to Bhubaneswar (6 pm), Nasik to Bhopal (8 pm), Jaipur to Patna and Kota to Hatia (9 pm).

Each train is expected to carry 1,000-1,200 passengers.

"Passengers need not buy anything from the railways. State governments will coordinate and pay on their behalf," the railways said.

Expressing disappointment, Jharkhand chief minister Hemant Soren insisted that Centre must reconsider its decision.

“This is really sad. The central government should reconsider this decision. In this hour of disaster, it is an injustice to the labour colleagues returning back home,” tweeted the CM.

Thousands of migrants were stranded in places across the country since the lockdown was enforced on March 25, many even attempting to walk home hundreds of kilometres away.

On Friday, the Ministry of Home Affairs gave permission to the railways to run special trains for migrants and those stranded in different parts of the country.

States like Rajasthan, Jharkhand, Bihar, Kerala, Maharashtra, Odisha, Uttar Pradesh, Punjab and Telangana have requested special trains to ferry migrant workers back to their home states.

-Inputs from PTI

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