Maharshtra has alleged that not enough trains were being provided to them.
Railways Minister Piyush Goyal lashed out at the Maharashtra government once again on Tuesday, accusing the state of not providing information about passengers, resulting in many Shramik Special trains, being used to ferry migrant workers stranded by the COVID-19 lockdown, not running.
Mr Goyal tweeted that the Railways had planned 145 trains for Tuesday but only 13 trains could be run till 3:00 pm because of a lack of passengers.
On request of Maharashtra Govt, we arranged 145 Shramik Special Trains today. These trains are ready since morning. 50 trains were to leave till 3 pm but only 13 trains have due to lack of passengers.
— Piyush Goyal (@PiyushGoyal) May 26, 2020
I request Maharashtra Government to fully cooperate in ensuring that the distressed migrants are able to reach their homes and bring passengers to Stations in time, and not cause further delays. It will affect the entire network and planning.
— Piyush Goyal (@PiyushGoyal) May 26, 2020
Earlier, the Railways had issued statements saying that it planned 125 trains for evacuating migrants from Maharashtra on Monday but the state government was only able to give information for 41 trains till 2 am.
"Out of these 41 trains, only 39 trains could run as passengers could not be brought by local authorities and these two trains had to be cancelled.
"After meticulous planning and sustained effort, the Railways mobilised its resources at a very short notice and prepared 145 Shramik trains to depart from Maharashtra on May 26," a statement issued by the Railways said.
"Till 12 noon, 25 trains were planned from Maharashtra to run but no departure could happen due to lack of passengers. Boarding of the first train could only commence at CSMT at 12.30 pm," it said.
Over the past two days, Piyush Goyal and the Maharashtra government have been locked in a wrangle over Shramik Special trains, with the state alleging that not enough trains were being provided to them.
Mr Goyal on Sunday night said that his ministry would work overnight if it received within one hour a list of trains, passengers and destinations from the Maharashtra Chief Minister. The provocation - Mr Thackeray alleging that he had got only half the trains he had asked for.
"Where is the list for 125 trains from Maharashtra? As of 2 am, received list of only 46 trains of which five are to West Bengal and Odisha which cannot operate due to cyclone Amphan. We are notifying only 41 trains for today despite being prepared for 125!!!" - Mr Goyal tweeted at 2:11 am on Monday.
Later, Shiv Sena MP Sanjay Raut hit back: "We have sent the list. The only request for Piyush Goyal is that the train should reach its destination. A train to Gorakhpur should not reach Odisha." He was referring to a migrant train from Maharashtra reaching Odisha instead of UP last week due to a mix-up.
