Amid spike in COVID-19 cases, North Western Railway to rush 150 isolation coaches to Delhi

The railways have decided to provide isolation coaches in Delhi amidst an increase in the spread of coronavirus infections in the national capital, officials said on Monday.

On the instructions of the Railway Board, the North Western Railway (NWR), which is headquartered in Jaipur, will be sending 150 such coaches to Delhi, the officials said.

According to Chief PRO (NWR) Abhay Sharma, NWR has converted 266 coaches as isolation coaches keeping in view the spike in coronavirus cases at its different divisions in pursuance of the directions from the Board.

The Railway Board has taken the initiative on the recommendation of the Delhi government, the NWR spokesperson said.

“Of these, Ajmer division has converted 85 coaches, Jodhpur division 83 coaches, Bikaner division 50 coaches and Jaipur division 48 coaches into isolation coaches," he said.

Apart from the first batch of 150 coaches that are being sent to Delhi, the remaining coaches will be sent as per requirement in future.

Sharma said the major alterations in the regular coaches included removal of berths, redesigning the toilets, installing transparent curtains for separation and installation of fittings required for medical equipment and devices besides provisioning of other important facilities.

Besides this, roof insulation has also been provisioned in these coaches with a view to reduce the heat in the coaches to be deployed in areas with high temperatures. This includes applying special heat resistant paint on the roofs or installation of canopies.

Meanwhile, the NWR has rolled out 12 special train services for different destinations with a view to provide relief to the public.