The Central Railway (CR) and Western Railway (WR) will convert 482 and 410 coaches respectively into isolation coaches as part of the Indian Railways’ initiative to convert 5,000 coaches to aid the fight against novel coronavirus.
To help local hospitals deal with the increasing number of COVID-19 cases, the Railway Board plans to convert 20,000 coaches into isolation wards. In the first phase, 17 zones have been asked to convert 5,000 coaches.
Non-AC Link Hofmann Bush (LHB) coaches, which are over 15 years old, will be used for the purpose. Each coach will have nine cabins, with the first cabin towards the bathroom to be separated using two curtains and earmarked as storage or paramedic area. Two oxygen cylinders will also be provided with appropriate clamping facilities.
Senior officials put the cost of the modifications at around ₹2 lakh per coach. On CR, the work will be undertaken by the Matunga workshop in Mumbai Division, while in WR, it will be done by Lower Parel workshop, Mahalakshmi workshop, Mumbai Central depot in the Mumbai Division as well as other divisions. WR officials said that currently they have 360 15-year-old non LHB coaches.
