Wonderful! Indian Railways rolls out swanky new AC, non-AC train coaches for post-COVID travel; top features

The two Post COVID-19 coaches have been designed in a way so as to prevent the COVID-19 from spreading.

Indian Railways rolls out new train coaches for Post COVID-19 travel! The Rail Coach Factory (RCF), Kapurthala, the train coach manufacturing factory of Indian Railways, is launching two Post COVID-19 coaches – one AC coach and one Non-AC coach. According to the national transporter, these two Post COVID-19 coaches have been designed in a way so as to prevent the COVID-19 from spreading. Indian Railways believes that the features offered by these coaches can make rail passenger business more robust by boosting passenger confidence in travelling by trains. The cost of newly added features is about Rs 6 to 7 lakhs per coach.

Indian Railways new AC, non-AC train coaches: What’s special?

Handsfree Amenities: These amenities include foot-operated water tap and soap dispenser, foot-operated lavatory door (outside), foot-operated latches in lavatory door, foot-operated flush valve, outside washbasin with foot-operated water tap as well as soap dispenser, forearm operated handle on the compartment door.

Copper coated Handrails and Latches: According to Indian Railways, copper degrades the virus on the surface within a few hours’ time as copper has anti-microbial properties. If there is virus on copper, Ion blasts pathogen and destroys the DNA as well as RNA inside the virus.

Plasma Air Purifier: There is a provision of Plasma Air Equipment in the AC duct. Inside the AC coach, sterilization of air and surfaces will be done using ionised air to make the coach COVID-19 and particulate matter resistant. There is also an improvement in ion concentration from 100 ions/cm3 to more than 6000 ions/cm3.

Titanium Di-oxide Coating: Coating done by Titanium Dioxide that is nanostructured, functions as photoactive material. The water-based coating is eco-friendly that kills viruses, bacteria, mold, as well as fungal growth. Most importantly, it enhances indoor air quality. It is non-toxic and it has been approved by the food testing laboratory of the United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA), CE certified. Considered to be a safe substance, Titanium Di-oxide is harmless to humans. This coating is applied on washbasins, seats and berths, lavatory, glass window, snack table, floor and virtually every surface that comes in human contact. The effective life of Titanium Di-oxide coating is 12 months.

Meanwhile, RCF has also claimed to observe all COVID-19 safety measures such as regular disinfection of workplace, thermal screening at factory entrance, personal hygiene of employees at the workplace, social distancing, public awareness announcements on COVID-19 safety, display of awareness posters for wearing face mask, safety check of all entries at campus entrance gate, etc.