The Central Railway (CR) and the Western Railway (WR) will be removing curtains and replacing old blankets in air-conditioned compartments across trains to halt the spread of the novel coronavirus.
Shivaji Sutar, chief public relations officer of CR, said curtains would be taken off over the next four or five days and in the case of roller blinds the cloth will be removed. Mr. Sutar said, “These are the key places that come into contact with passengers. Monitoring such areas would be a tough task and hence this decision has been taken.”
CR will also be replacing old blankets with fresh ones. All blankets will be soaked in high temperature in the tumble dryers of laundries, which will raise the temperature to 75-80 degrees Celsius. The blankets will be given only to passengers who ask for them.
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“We are also increasing the temperature of the air-conditioned compartments to between 23 and 25 degrees Celsius so that passengers don’t feel the need for blankets,” Mr. Sutar said.
A senior railway official said unlike bedsheets, fresh blankets are not provided after each trip as they are thicker and take time to dry. The official said CR will also be carrying out intensive cleaning of toilets and washbasins using hot water.
A WR spokesperson said, “Blankets and curtains should be withdrawn till further orders. Passengers should be advised to bring their own blankets. Wide publicly should be given to this effect. Extra bedsheets may be kept for exigencies.”
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