First special train ferries 1,200 stranded migrants from Telangana to Jharkhand

• According to the railway officials, a special non-stop train operated as a one-off service on Friday morning from Telangana to Hatia in Jharkhand.
• Railway sources said the train carrying 1,200 migrant workers from Telangana left from Lingampalli station at 5 a.m.
  
• The railways have suspended the passenger, mail and express train services in a bid to combat the spread of COVID-19.
  
  

Railways on Friday ran a special train to ferry 1,200 stranded migrants from Lingampally in Telangana to Hatia in Jharkhand, a first since the lockdown began.

"The 24 coach train started at 4.50 am today (Friday)," RPF DG Arun Kumar told PTI. It's the only train to be deployed so far, he added. Incidentally Friday is also the international Labour Day.

According to the railway officials, a special non-stop train operated as a one-off service on Friday morning from Telangana to Hatia in Jharkhand.

Railway sources said the train carrying 1,200 migrant workers from Telangana left from Lingampalli station at 5 a.m.

Speaking to IANS, Railway Protection Force (RPF) Director General Arun Kumar said, "A non stop train from Telangana to Jharkhand started this morning with 1,200 migrants."

He said the train will reach Hatia around 11 p.m. on Friday.

According to officials in Jharkhand, the state government has made adequate arrangements for the testing and quarantine of the migrants returning to the state from the special non-stop train.

The railways have suspended the passenger, mail and express train services in a bid to combat the spread of COVID-19.

Last month, hundreds of migrants reached Bandra terminus railway station in Mumbai after rumour was spread that train services were resumed.

See also: These are the 130 coronavirus red zones in India — which are unlikely to open even after the lockdown ends