Hoping that it will get the go-ahead from state government any time now, Western Railway has stepped up sanitisation efforts for local trains
This picture has been used for representational purpose
As it awaits the green light from the Maharashtra government to operate trains for all, the Western Railway has intensified sanitisation of its locals with dedicated teams. It has formed a 31-member “COVID-19 Fighters” team only to focus on hygiene of local trains, at its car sheds at Mumbai Central, Kandivli and Virar.
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WR’s local trains are being sanitised by a dedicated team at its Mumbai Central, Kandivli and Virar car sheds
“The sanitisation of local trains includes disinfection of the passenger area and driving cab compartment, sanitisation of repeated and commonly touched areas during maintenance and spreading awareness among commuters on maintaining social distancing, for the safety of essential duty commuters and to prevent the spread of COVID-19,” Western Railway’s chief public relations officer Sumit Thakur said.
The official said the disinfection of the passenger area and the driving cab of all 81 local trains in use is being done at hte stabling yards and at the car sheds. “A special team of 31 people has now been deputed for sanitisation of local train rakes,” he said. Thakur said 10-12 litres of a diluted disinfectant is used for every 12-car train. The areas covered include side partitions, grab handles, centre grab pole, doors and windows.
“To educate commuters on maintaining social distance during travelling, stickers with the message “Please Do Not Sit Here” have been pasted at the centre of backrest seats. “This is in addition to the thousands of floor markings done by Western Railway to ensure social distancing at stations and platforms,” Thakur said. In the initial phase of the nationwide lockdown, WR ran 162 services with 18 trains for emergency duty staff of the state government, private health sector and railway staff from June 15, 2020. It gradually increased its services. WR now runs 1,201 services with 81 trains.
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