Now, around 1,700 passengers, three stoppages for 'Shramik Special' trains

In a bid to ferry more migrants, the Railways on Monday decided to carry around 1,700 passengers on board its 'Shramik Special' trains instead of the current 1,200.

According to an order issued, the railway zones have also been asked to provide three stoppages in the destination state other than the final stop, at the request of the state governments.

It also said that the train capacity should be equal to the number of sleeper berths on the train.

The 'Shramik Special' trains has 24 coaches with a capacity to carry 72 passengers in each coach.

Currently, these trains are running with 54 passengers in each coach due to social distancing norms.

So far, the Indian Railways has ferried over 5 lakh passengers since May 1.

"The Railways has a capacity to run 300 trains per day and we want to maximise it. We want to carry as many migrants home as possible over the next few days and have appealed to states to send approvals," said a senior official explaining the move.