The Railways generated Rs 429.90 crore revenue through fares collected for Shramik Trains till July 9, according to ministry data.

The national carrier spent around Rs 2400 crore in operating Shramik Trains, a senior ministry official said.

The national carrier received highest revenue in fares from Gujarat, Maharashtra and Tamil Nadu with Rs 102 crore, Rs 85 crore and Rs 34 crore respectively, according to the data reviewed by HT. The fares were supposed to be paid by states, though there have been several reports of local administrations collecting the money from migrant workers.

The trains were run starting May 1 to ferry migrant workers stranded in cities, back home to their villages in the hinterland.

The national carrier however,spent around Rs 2400 crore in operating Shramik Trains, a senior ministry official said on condition of anonymity, adding that the revenue generated “should be taken as receipt only in lieu of expenses incurred by the Railways in running of Shramik Trains”.

The ministry in June said the average cost of fares for migrants aboard Shramik Special trains was Rs 600 and added that it spent around Rs 3400 per person to operate the train. The official cited above said the fares were taken from the states. “It may be noted that railways incurred 85% of the cost of operating Shramik Trains. It was an important operation to rise up for the need of the nation during the lockdown,” a spokesperson for the ministry said.

Railways operated 4,496 special trains between May 1 and July 9, ferrying 6.3 million people. The fare structure included regular sleeper class tickets plus superfast charges of Rs 30 and an additional charge of Rs 20.