As the coronavirus cases have been increasing rapidly in the state and the city, the Railway officials on Sunday, April 11, said that isolation railway coaches can be used to alleviate the shortage of beds for COVID-19 patients.
The railway authorities will provide the isolation coaches on demand from the state government in case of non-availability of bed in Mumbai. According to reports, more than 550 isolation coaches available across the country and 176 in Maharashtra.
The Central Railway Department has a total of 482 isolation coaches and the Western Railway Department has 386 isolation coaches.
Of which, 128 coaches are available with the Western Railway (WR) and 25 with Central Railway (CR) of Mumbai division.
The coaches can facilitate nearly 3,600 patients at one time. Each coach can accommodate nearly 24 patients. The coaches are also equipped with medical oxygen. The isolation coaches are generally used for patients with mild symptoms.
Moreover, it has come to light that 48 isolation coaches have been prepared in Bhusaval, Pune, Solapur and Nagpur divisions of Central Railway.
Last year, the Indian Railways had converted more than 5,000 railway coaches into isolation units for COVID-19 patients. Of these, over 800 coaches were provided to CR and WR.
The coaches were converted at a cost of INR 2 lakhs and will be stationed at the designated railway stations. There will be no movement of the trains from the railway station where they are stationed.
Though, the coaches were not used in Maharashtra but were made available to other states including Uttar Pradesh and Telangana. The coaches are deployed only at the request of the state government.
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