Could train service may stop again amid Corona?
COVID-19 has taken a terrible shape across the country. As a result, naturally, the question on everyone’s mind, will the train service be closed again? In a virtual press conference on Sunday afternoon, the Chairman of the Railway Board, Suneet Sharma, said that a large part of the railway workers was affected by Covid but that the train would not be closed. So far, no state has transmitted any message in this regard. As a result, there is no danger of shutting down the service.
Suneet Sharma said: “Several states have asked passengers to go there with RT-PCR reports and vaccinations. As a result, we have reported in such a way. So that passengers will not get harassed in any way.” There are 1,514 specials unlocked, 1587 suburban trains, 984 passenger trains, and 28 clone trains running. Also, 4,176 isolation trainers have been prepared in different states. She assured that the railroads would make arrangements if the state so desired.
In times of crisis, the railways have started providing emergency services to oxygen tanker trucks. Until now, the railroads have supplied 150 metric tons of oxygen through their transportation. That will double in a day or two, the president said. For this emergency service, railway connectivity maps have been drawn up with all steel plants in India. The signal of the line, the staff, has been active at all times. So there is no interruption in the oxygen supply from there. Thus, the tank truck carrying oxygen can quickly reach the destination.
4, 7, and 3 oxygen tankers already delivered to Delhi, Maharashtra, and Uttar Pradesh. A tanker has 15 to 16 metric tons of oxygen. As per the situation, plans have been made to introduce RT-PCR in railway hospitals. Authority will also increase five thousand beds under the pressure of this situation. During Kovid, railroad revenues have increased by 63 percent.
Although the Chairman of the Railway Board, Kovid, said that railway hospitals should play a very active role in the situation, there is a serious shortage of vaccines provided by the state in hospitals. While there is some parity in the supply of vaccines to Kolkata’s railway hospitals, the district hospitals are in dire straits.
Workers at hospitals in Lilua, Kanchrapara, Howrah, and Asansol have protested against the lack of vaccines. Rudrendu Bhattacharya, chief medical director for the Eastern Railway, said the railway hospitals have the infrastructure to vaccinate 500 people daily.
She is a freelance blogger, writer, and speaker, and writes for various entertainment magazines.