7 Trains from (MS)CHENNAI EGMORE to (NCJ)NAGERCOIL JN

Press Release No. 2020/04Mumbai, 3^rdApril, 2020

ESSENTIAL COMMODITIES & VITAL GOODS ARE DELIVERED TO VARIOUS PARTS OF THE COUNTRY BY WR EVEN DURING CORONA LOCKDOWN

In the wake of the 21-day lockdown to contain the spread of the deadly Coronavirus, Western Railway's staff from various departments continues to display grit and commitment through their exemplary services. This is so because, Western Railway is fully committed to its customers and continues to ensure supply of essential commodities like milk and milk products to different parts of the country.

According to a press release issued by Shri Ravinder Bhakar - Chief Public Relations Officer of WesternRailway, four timetabled trains were planned to run by WR with 18 trips between 31^st March to 15^th April, 2020 comprising of, 12 trips between Bandra Terminus & Ludhiana, 2 trips between Kankariya & Sankrail Goods terminal, 2 trips between Karambeli & Changsari and 2 trips between Kankaria and Chennai Central. Out of these, 3 trains, o­ne each have already departed fromKankaria in Ahmedabad to Sankrail goods terminal at West Bangal, from Bandra Terminus to Ludhiana andfrom Karambeli in Gujarat to Changsari in Assam respectively. o­ne more trip of the Bandra Terminus – Ludhiana is scheduled to depart today i.e o­n 3^rdApril, 2020. All efforts are being made by WR to ensure the regular supply of essential commodities across all parts of country through its freight trains. Western Railway through itsParcel Express trains carry commodities such as Milk Product, Edible Oil, Spices, Groceries and Biscuits, dry grass etc. Since the lockdown period till now, from 22^nd March to 2^nd April, 2020, total 649 rakes have been used to supply essential commodities amounting to 1.35 million tonnes. 1661 freight trains were interchanged with other railways, including 820 trains handed over and 841 trains taken over at different interchange points. 13 Millennium Parcel rakes of Parcel Vans/Railway Milk Tankers (RMTs) have been sent to different parts of the country to cope the demands of essential items such as milk powder, liquid milk and other general consumer goods.

Shri Bhakar stated that total losses over Western Railway up to2^nd April, 2020 has been Rs235.69 Cr (inclusive of suburban+ non-suburban). Inspite of this, Western Railway has also successfully refunded Rs. 133.38 crores against cancellation of tickets till now and in Mumbai Division itself refund of Rs. 62.96 crores has been made. In all 21.10 lakh passengershave cancelled their tickets for Western Railway& hv recd refund accordingly.

It is noteworthy to mention that suitable monitoring of all activities & arrangements are being carried out by the Principal Heads of Deptts. along with their teams to cope with the situation and to ensure smooth implementation of all plans, under the aegis of Shri Alok Kansal - General Manager of Western Railway.Western Railway truly believes in giving its optimal services even in the tough times of lockdown due to Coronavirus Pandemic. W. Rly continues to serve the nation by lending its hand through essential service, be it freight traffic or medical facilityor any other good initiatives for the society & the Nation.

**********

Press Release No. 2020/04                Mumbai, 2^nd April, 2020,

WESTERN RAILWAY TO RUN o­nE MORE PAIR OF

PARCEL SPECIAL TRAIN

Parcel Special to be run between Kankaria and Chennai Central

To fulfill the commitment towards the nation and the people, Western Railway is leaving no stone unturned to ensure that essential commodities are made available across the nation during the time of lockdown. To fulfill this commitment, one more parcel special rake has been planned to run between Kankaria and Chennai Central.Earlier, three timetabled parcel express trains were planned by WR, which departed o­n 31st March, 2020 from Kankaria in Ahmedabad to Sankrail goods terminal at West Bangal, o­n 1st April, 2020 from Bandra Terminus to Ludhiana and o­n 2^nd April, 2020 from Karambeli in Gujarat to Changsari in Assam. The train which departed from Kankaria o­n 31^stMarch, 2020 is scheduled to reach Sankrail today at 20.00 hrs after covering a distance of 2073 kms.

According to a press release issued by Shri Ravinder Bhakar - Chief Public Relations Officer ofWestern Railway, all efforts are being made by WR to ensure the regular supply of essential commodities across all parts of country through its freight trains. To mitigate the difficulties to a certain extent, one more parcel special rake has been planned to run between Kankaria and Chennai Central. This train will run o­n 5^th April 2020 as Train No00907 Kankaria- Chennai Central and depart from Kankaria at 20.00 hrs to reach Chennai Central at 12.00 hrs o­n 7^thApril, 2020. Similarly, in the return direction Train No 00908 will will Chennai Central o­n 7^th April, 2020 at 22.00 hrs to reach Kankariya at 12.50 hrs o­n 9^th April, 2020. The train will halt at Anand, Vadodara, Surat, Nandurbar, Bhusaval, Akola, Badnera, Wardha, Chandrapur, Balharshah, Warangal, Vijaywada Jn, Nellore and Gudur Jn.

Western Railway had decided to open transportation of essential items such as medical supplies, equipment and food etc& accordingly, earlier time table of 3 Parcel Express trains was declared by Western Rly, making total 16 trips during the period from 31^st March to 15^th April, 2020 i.e 12 trips between Bandra Terminus & Ludhiana, 2 trips between Kankariya & Sankrail Goods terminal and 2 trips between Karambeli & Changsari. Now with the addition of train between Kankaria and Chennai Central the total trip would be 18 trips between 31^st March to 15^thApril, 2020. The Parcel Express trains carry commodities such as Milk Product, Edible Oil, Spices, Groceries and Biscuits, dry grass etc. Since the lockdown period till now, from 22^nd March to 2^nd April, 2020, total 587 rakes have been used to supply essential commodities amounting to 1.22 million tonnes. 1515 freight trains were interchanged with other railways, including 748 trains handed over and 767 trains taken over at different interchange points. 11 Millennium Parcel rakes of Parcel Vans/Railway Milk Tankers (RMTs) have been sent to different parts of the country to cope the demands of essential items such as milk powder, liquid milk and other general consumer goods.

It is a matter of great gratification that Indian Railways has maintained its freight corridors well and fully functional inspite of the COVID 19 lockdown and has been successful in meeting the needs of both the households sector and industry. During last 3 days Indian Railways delivered 7195 wagons of Food grains, 64567 wagons of coal, 3314 wagons of steel and 3838 wagons of petroleum. Total 143458 wagons of freight were loaded in the last three days.

Shri Bhakar stated that total losses over Western Railway up to1st April, 2020 has been pegged at Rs 221.40 Cr (inclusive of suburban+ non-suburban). However, Western Railway has also successfully refunded Rs. 132.84 crores against cancellation of tickets till now and in Mumbai Division itself refund of Rs. 62.72 crores has been made.

**********