GUWAHATI: Indian Railways is ready to provide all kind of support to the Government in order to prevent the spread of Coronavirus in the country.
The Railway department has modified passenger coaches to isolation coaches, equipped with all the necessary equipments to meet the COVID-19 needs.
Northeast Frontier Railway (NFR) has already modified a total of 315 coaches as isolation coaches and the coaches will be placed in various locations across the country.
As per a press release, The coaches are equipped with all basic facilities required for isolation as per guidelines issued by Railway Board. The isolation coaches also include mosquito nets, charging points for mobile phones and laptops, space for paramedics, etc. Each coach consists of 8 beds, 1 bathroom, 3 toilets for the patients.
The Indian Railways informed that, if required more coaches can be modified as Isolation coaches as existing isolation beds in various hospitals might be insufficient in case of contingency and building new hospitals are not possible within a short time. So during an emergency, these coaches will come handy for the health departments.
At present 20(twenty) coaches each has been modified at Katihar and New Jalpaiguri area under Katihar division.
25(twenty-five) coaches have been modified at the Alipurduar Junction area under the Alipurduar division.
30(thirty) coaches have been modified at the Dibrugarh area under the Tinsukia division.
10(ten) coaches at Agartala, 30(thirty) coaches at Silchar, 50(fifty) coaches each at Guwahati and Kamakhya have been modified under the Lumding division.
50(fifty) coaches have been modified at New Bongaigaon Railway Workshop and kept under the Rangiya division.
30(thirty) coaches have been modified at Dibrugarh Railway Workshop and kept under the Tinsukia division.
Altogether 2520 Isolation beds in coaches are ready with Northeast Frontier Railway (NFR) in different locations. These beds are in addition to 170 Isolation beds which are ready at different Railway hospitals under Northeast Frontier Railway (NFR).
On the other hand, 811 beds for Quarantine are also kept ready for use in different locations under Northeast Frontier Railway (NFR).
Meanwhile, Indian Railways have 125 hospitals throughout India and of that more than 70 are being planned to be kept ready for any COVID-19 related contingency.
