Railway coaches getting ready to accommodate COVID patients
Posted on: 23/Apr/2021 9:24:29 AM
The hospitals are full of Coronavirus patients now with an increasing number of cases. The news now is that the SR or Southern Railways has kept around 300 isolation coaches ready for the sake of Covid-19 patients. Currently, there are 299 coaches to help the state health departments.
In the first Covid-19 wave in 2020, the zone had converted 573 non-a/c second class sleeper coaches into isolation coaches to accommodate Coronavirus affected patients. When the number of cases went down the SR restored more than 270 coaches and converted them into usual train service is known.
To support Covid-19 assistance in all divisions of the zone except Palakkad, more than 270 coaches have been berthed as train sets in operationally feasible stations. As per some officers belonging to SR, the railway zone has not yet received order for fresh coach conversion. The truth is that the railway zone has not been approached by either TN or Kerala governments for providing isolation coaches for those Covid-19 persons without severe symptoms. In Delhi and in Maharashtra, some 20 odd coaches have been used for Covid-19 patients.
It was later brought out by a senior official belonging to SR that in sheds and in the stations the coaches have been kept ready where it is operationally feasible to mobilise and use them as isolation wards. The officer shed light on how the already converted coaches have not been used for accommodating Covid-19 patients now. Point is that when there is need then more coaches would be converted into isolation coaches.
