Train Coaches Converted Into COVID-19 Isolation Facilities

Harin - Mar 31, 2020

The railways have come up with a prototype of how an isolation ward would look like if a non-air-conditioned train coach is converted.

With more cases and cases of COVID-19, India is desperately in need of hospital beds, ventilators, and isolation facilities. Unfortunately, these are things that can’t be put together overnight.

Even for China which is known for its mind-boggling engineering capabilities, it took two weeks to build a temporary hospital with 1,000 beds. Since India hasn’t mastered such engineering skills and doesn’t have the time for that, the only thing the country can do right now is to make use of the available resources.

And the Indian Railways has proved what it can do. The Indian Railways has been reportedly asked to consider the possibility of transforming train coaches into COVID-19 isolation facilities. And a few days after that, the railways have come up with a prototype of how an isolation ward would look like if a non-air-conditioned train coach is converted.

Train Coaches Isolation Wards — How an isolation ward would look like if a non-air-conditioned train coach is converted.

Once they have all decide on the best practices, 10 coaches would be transformed every week. And then these coaches would serve whichever region that is in need. The prototype was made at the Northern Railways’ Jagadhri workshop.

One of the workshop’s senior officials said that a Link Hofmann Busch coach was used. To make the isolation ward, they first needed to remove the middle berth. They then used plywood for the compartment’s lower portion. There would be 10 isolation wards in each coach.

To plug in medical equipment, in each compartment, there are 220-volt electrical points. There are also facilities for 415-volt supply externally.

They also converted four toilets into two bathrooms. There is a shower, a mug, and a bucket inside each bathroom. Inside each compartment, there is a place for bottle-holders for four bottles. Not just for patients but the coaches will also have other facilities like consultation rooms, ICU, medical stores, and pantry.

Train Coach Isolation Ward — To plug in medical equipment, in each compartment, there are 220-volt electrical points.

The Rail Coach Factory in Punjab’s Kapurthala is designing hospital facilities by converting LHB coaches for future purposes. And the design will be wrapped up soon.

Some other railway zones have also tried to set up isolation wards by converting non-AC coaches like in Kamakhya, Guwahati. Meanwhile, in many railway zones, the production units are working on manufacturing essential commodities like ventilators, trolleys, and beds. For example, at its coaching depots and workshops, the South Central Railway has made overalls, face masks, cots, and side-stools.