In the time of the Covid-19 pandemic, travelling can be hazardous, but the railways have come up with new coaches designed to help the passenger avoid the risk of infection to the maximum extent.

The Indian Railways’ production unit, Rail Coach Factory, Kapurthala, has developed a ‘post covid coach’. It has design improvements like hands-free amenities, copper-coated handrails & latches, plasma air purification and titanium di-oxide coating for Covid free passenger journey, an official release said on Tuesday.

The initial announcement, however, did not mention how many coaches are in the pipeline or when and on which trains they will be introduced. The salient features of the new coaches are:

1.  Handsfree amenities: The coach has hands-free 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.

2. Copper-coated handrails & latches: It is equipped with copper-coated handrails and 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.

3. Plasma air purification:  It has a provision of plasma air equipment in AC duct. It 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.

4. Titanium di-oxide coating:  The new coach has titanium di-oxide coating in the coach. Nano structured titanium dioxide coating functions as photoactive material. This is eco-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 US 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.