After the Indian Railways swung into action to convert 20,000 train coaches into isolation and quarantine wards, one such facility, akin to a ‘Hospital on Wheels’, is almost ready in Tirupati.
The Tirupati-based Railway Coaching Depot has taken up the mammoth task of converting 60 non-air-conditioned coaches into quarantine or isolation wards. Of the nine coupes in a coach, eight will be converted into makeshift wards for patients, while the ninth one will be used for storage of medical equipment and drugs. All the coaches have been thoroughly sanitised, while special curtains are being draped to ensure the patient’s privacy. The middle berth is removed to leverage on space by providing more elbow room for patients.
Facilities
Three of the four toilets in a coach will remain for the patients’ use, and the fourth one is modified into a bathroom. It will have a hand shower, regular taps, dust bin, soap and hand sanitisers. Mosquito nets will also be fixed to all the windows to ensure hygiene. “The work is nearing completion and the rakes will be handed over in a day or two to the operations team,” said a coaching depot official at the site. An air-conditioned coach may also be made available to store drugs and also for the on-duty medical team to take rest.
Once the depot hands over the 60 coaches, it will be for the operations team at the station to bring it to use as per the emerging requirement. Since a platform can accommodate not more than 24 coaches, it is expected to place three rakes of 20 coaches each on three platforms in a station. It is also not sure if the rake will be parked in Tirupati or taken elsewhere depending on the situation as flagged by the medical and health officials.
Similarly, the Carriage Repair Shop (CRS) at Renigunta is also engaged in a similar task.
