The two railway divisions in the State have converted 92 coaches into isolation units to augment the quarantine facilities being created in the wake of COVID-19.
The Thiruvananthapuram division modified 60 non-air-conditioned three-tier sleeper and general class coaches at the coaching depots at Nagercoil, Thiruvananthapuram, Kochuveli, and Ernakulam, while the Palakkad division converted 32 coaches at the intermediate overhauling sheds at Mangaluru and Shoranur. A total of 1,472 beds are available in the 92 isolation units readied in the State.
5,000 coaches
Railways have drawn up a plan to convert 5,000 coaches initially into isolation units to provide 40,000 beds.
All works in the 92 units were completed ahead of schedule on Thursday. Eight of the nine cabins in a coach have been converted into independent isolation wards that can accommodate two patients each. Middle berths have been removed from these cabins.
Mohammed Shameem and K.V. Sundaresan, senior divisional mechanical engineers of the Thiruvananthapuram and Palakkad divisions respectively, supervised the works.
Railways will move the units to those areas requested by the State. Three rakes, each with 20 coaches, pantry, and two SLRs, will be ready to be moved out on Friday and the units will have to be stabled at stations to fetch medical teams and for power and water supply, an official told The Hindu. Of the 32 isolation units in the Palakkad division, 20 will be stationed in Mangaluru.
