Rlys asks people to avoid train travel

...found some cases of infected passengers in trains which makes train travel risky. Please avoid train travel as you may also get infected if your copassenger has Coronavirus MINISTRY OF RAILWAYS

NEW DELHI: Indian Railways has thus far found at least 12 cases of passengers flouting self-quarantine norms and subsequently tested positive for Covid-19 so far and has issued an immediate advisory to those under quarantine to not travel by train. “Railways has found some cases of Coronavirus infected passengers in trains which makes train travel risky. Please avoid train travel as you may also get infected if your co-passenger has Coronavirus. Please postpone all journeys and keep yourself and your loved ones safe,” the ministry of railways said in its advisory issued Saturday.

Railways has also begun contact tracing of passengers across all zones who could have come in contact with these passengers.

Among the first such cases were eight passengers who travelled on the AP Sampark Kranti Express from Delhi to Ramagundam in Telangana on March 13. Railways said that they tested positive on Friday. The officials, however, did not reveal their travel history.

Also on Friday, four passengers who travelled on the Godan Express from Mumbai to Jabalpur on March 16 tested positive.

“We have begun contact tracing of all passengers (who may have come in contact with them). These four travelled to India from Dubai last week. They were travelling in coach B1 and all passengers are being contacted. We are tracing them through the registered details for their tickets and are taking the help of state authorities,” a railway ministry official said.

Railways has also fumigated and sanitised the coaches where these people travelled.

There is another problem Railways has to deal with — coping with quarantine breakers in realtime. Over the past week, as Indian authorities in several states have started using home quarantine stamps (in indelible ink) on the hands of people who need to be in isolation, Railway officials have caught several passengers with such stamps.

For instance, on Saturday, a couple was found with home quarantine stamps in coach B1 of the Bangalore-delhi Rajdhani train. They were deboarded and sent to a hospital. The railway ministry added that the train stopped immediately and the coach isolated.

According to a second rail ministry official, the couple were identified as quarantine breakers near Kazipet in Telangana on Saturday when one of them was washing hands and a co-passenger saw the stamp.

On Saturday evening, two passengers were deboarded from Mumbai to Delhi Rajdhani in coach B5. Officials said the passengers were returning from Dubai and were deboarded at Surat after their quarantine stamps were identified.

On Wednesday, four passengers with similar stamps were found travelling in coaches G4 and G5 of Garib Rath (train 12216) from Mumbai to Delhi and were deboarded at Palghar station when other passengers raised an alarm after spotting their home quarantine stamps. The four passengers had flown down from Germany and were headed to Surat, Gujarat. On Thursday, six passengers with quarantine stamps were deboarded from Saurashtra Express.

Experts have suggested penalising such quarantine breakers.

The national carrier on Friday announced that nearly 3700 passenger and mail express trains would be cancelled on Sunday till 10 PM following the Prime Minister’s call for a people’s curfew.