Rly identifies train woman took to Agra, sanitises it

NEW DELHI: Senior officials with the Northern Railways on Saturday said they have “identified the train” on which a 25-year-old woman who later tested positive for the coronavirus disease travelled from New Delhi to Agra.

The authorities are now “looking for passengers and train staff who were in the same coach — C8 of Gatimaan Express — as her on March 9, to be made aware of the danger and quarantined.” This train, according to officials, originates at the Hazrat Nizamuddin Railway Station and goes up to Gwalior and Jhansi. It usually leaves by 8.10am and reaches Agra by 9.45am.

The Delhi government said officials of the Uttar Pradesh government have put the woman in quarantine.

The woman and her husband had married in February and then travelled to Greece and France. The man returned to work in Bengaluru, and later developed symptoms of the coronavirus infection, after which he was tested positive. The woman was immediately placed on quarantine. However, she escaped on March 8.

The woman travelled to Delhi from Bengaluru by air and then took a train from Hazrat Nizamuddin Railway Station on March 9 to her home in Agra.

Northern Railways spokesperson Deepak Kumar said, “We have identified the train and fumigated it thoroughly. The particular coach has been isolated, which means it will be cleaned and not put to use for the next few days or weeks. We are also in the process of tracing passengers and train staff who were on the train that day so that they may be made aware.”

Another official said the train, as usual, returned to the Nizamuddin yard, and is being disinfected.

The incident has put the administration of all railway stations in Delhi on high alert. Railway authorities said they are taking several measures to avoid an outbreak of Covid-19.

RP Pandey, director at the New Delhi Railway Station (NDLS), which is the largest train junction in the national capital, said, “Train tracks, platforms, all office rooms and public toilets here are being sprayed with disinfectant. A team of doctors from the Northern Railway Central Hospital in Paharganj is supervising these efforts.”

“At least 200 bottles and 500 pouches of hand sanitisers, as well as masks have been given to our most vulnerable staff like travel ticket examiners (TTES), parcel office staff and those deployed at reservation counters,” he said.

Senior officials at the Hazrat Nizamuddin Railway Station said they are following protocol as communicated to them by the zonal head.

Om Kumar, station manager at the Anand Vihar Railway Terminal, said, “We have told our contractors to sanitise all waiting rooms, AC or non-ac, several times a day. Besides, in between the train arrival and departure announcements, we are giving out messages on how people can protect themselves from coronavirus.”