Indian Railways has developed a Post Covid Coach, a step to prevent the spread of Covid 19, the Ministry of Railways said on Tuesday.
Sustaining the ruthless fight against COVID-19, Indian Railways’ production unit, Rail Coach Factory, Kapurthala, has developed a Post Covid Coach to fight Covid 19, it said.
This Post Covid Coach has design improvements in the coach like handsfree amenities, copper-coated handrails & latches, plasma air purification and titanium di-oxide coating for Covid free passenger journey, the Railways added.
According to the Railways Ministry, following are the salient features of the Post Covid Coach:
Handsfree amenities: Post Covid Coach is having handsfree amenities like foot operated water tap & soap dispenser, foot operated lavatory door (outside), foot operated flush valve, foot operated latches in lavatory door, outside washbasin with foot operated water tap and soap dispenser and forearm operated handle on compartment door.
Copper-coated handrails & latches: Post Covid Coach equipped with copper-coated handrails & latches because copper degrades the virus landed on it within few hours. Copper has anti microbial properties. When virus lands on copper, Ion blasts pathogen and destroy the DNA and RNA inside the virus.
Plasma air purification: Post Covid Coach is having provision of plasma air equipment in AC duct. This plasma air equipment will sterilize the air and surfaces inside the AC coach using ionised air to make the coach Covid-19 and particulate matter resistant. This provision will also improve the ion concentration from 100 ions/cm3 to more than 6000 ions/cm.
Titanium Di-oxide coating: Post Covid Coach is having Titanium Di-oxide coating in the coach. Nano structured Titanium Dioxide Coating functions as photoactive material. This is aeco-friendly water-based coating that kills viruses, bacteria, mould, and fungal growth and most importantly enhances indoor air quality. It is non-toxic and approved by food testing laboratory of the United States Food & Drug Administration (FDA), CE certified. TiO2 is considered to be a safe substance and is harmless to humans. This Titanium Di-oxide coating applied on washbasins, lavatory, seats & berths, snack table, glass window, floor, virtually every surface that comes in human contact. Effective life of this coating is 12 months.