South Central Railway converts 100 coaches to COVID care centres

HYDERABAD: The South Central Railway (SCR) has converted 100 train coaches into COVID care centres that can provide 1,000 beds for Telangana. Designed by doctors and health experts, these coaches are well equipped with medicines and nursing staff, besides oxygen cylinders.

For the Railway employees in Telangana, the SCR already started services at Secunderabad and Kazipet railway hospitals from February 1. "Employees, dependents and retired employees are availing these facilities. Depending on the requirement, the number of beds are also being increased," the official added.

"If the State government comes up with the request, we are ready to handover these isolation wards to meet the needs. Since it is the State government which is needed to come up with the modalities, they need to take a call over the matter," an official told The New Indian Express.

"We have all the provisions including Oxygen cylinders which can be used by regularly refilling. The State government can utilise the provision by employing standard operating procedures and logistics for the smoother movement of patients to and from hospitals," he added.

According to Railway officials, 232 'COVID Care Coaches', with nearly a 4,000-bed capacity, are in use at 14 stations in different parts of the country, while 4,176 Isolation coaches are still available for deployment.

The latest demand has came from Gujarat, where the Railways have deployed 10 such coaches for Sabarmati and six coaches for Chandoliya, in terms of the Memorandum of Agreement with Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation.