Indian Railways’ fight against the novel Coronavirus outbreak continues! In this time of crisis, when the entire nation has been put in a lockdown till 14 April 2020, Indian Railways is making efforts to contain the spread of COVID-19. In a bid to help the government, the national transporter has taken several significant steps to provide medical facilities to the public across the nation. From manufacturing masks and sanitizers to converting train coaches into isolation wards for COVID-19 patients, Piyush Goyal chaired Railway Ministry is implementing various innovations to tackle the deadly virus pandemic. Here, take a look at some of the top innovations introduced by Indian Railways to fight COVID-19 infection:
Production of ventilators: The Rail Coach Factory (RCF), Kapurthala, recently developed a prototype of a ventilator, which would be used in the isolation or quarantine facilities of Indian Railways. The newly developed prototype ventilator has an original design and moreover, it will cost almost a fraction of the cost of a regular ventilator. Besides, the Production Units of Indian Railways are also manufacturing ventilators, PPEs as well as other medical equipment to meet the needs to fight novel Coronavirus pandemic.
Isolation wards or quarantine facilities: The national transporter has converted as many as 5,000 train coaches across the nation into isolation or quarantine facilities with around 80,000 beds for COVID-19 patients. The aim is to convert as many as 20,000 coaches if the need arises.
Mobile doctor booth for check-ups: The Coach Rehabilitation Workshop of the national transporter, located in Bhopal has launched a mobile doctor booth called “CHARAK”. The mobile booth facilitates zero-contact check-ups of patients and also ensures the safety of the medical professionals or doctors in light of the COVID-19 outbreak.
Fumigation/disinfection tunnel: Indian Railways is setting up fumigation or disinfection tunnels at various places. So, when someone enters through it, the fumigation spray begins and sanitizes the entire body of that person. A Fumigation Tunnel has been set up at Indian Railways’ Jagadhri Workshop. Also, a disinfection tunnel has been made available at Electric Loco Shed, Bhusawal.
Manufacturing of masks and sanitizer: According to a press release issued by the Railway Ministry, till 7 April 2020, the national transporter manufactured a total of 5,82,317 reusable face masks as well as 41,882 litres of hand sanitizer in-house in the zones of Indian Railways, Production Units as well as PSUs to contain the spread of COVID-19 infection.