Covid-19 impact: Southern Railway units start making sanitisers, masks

Development follows a directive by Railway Board to production units and workshops to use their manufacturing units to make essential medical items

Southern Railway has started making hand sanitisers, masks and aprons to take on the Coronavirus pandemic. It may be noted, that the ICF Factory in Chennai already started manufacturing ventilators.

Southern Railway has electric locomotive sheds at Erode and Arakkonam and a diesel shed at Ernakulam in Kerala. It also has the Perambur Locomotive Works and Perambur Carriage & Wagon Works in Chennai and Golden Rock Workshop in Trichy.

The Railway Board has directed production units and workshops to use their manufacturing units to make essential medical items. Southern Railway has got its team working on this task.

Perambur Loco Works has started making hand sanitisers for use in railway offices and railway hospitals.

The materials used in making this in-house product are iso propyl alcohol, hydrogen peroxide, glycerol and distilled water. Initially five litres have been prepared.

Goldern Rock Workshop, Tiruchirappalli has also produced 10 litres of hand sanitisers for in-house use. The average manufacturing cost comes to only Rs 570 per litre which is lot lower than products available in the market. Golden Rock has handed over the material to medical department for making hand sanitizers in its lab and will soon be making 60 cots as required by the Medical branch.

Perambur Carriage works has taken the initiative of making 250 masks so far. One hundred masks have been distributed to Chennai division for use by staff on goods trains and 150 masks have been handed over to the Railway hospital in Perambur.

The single-layer mask is made of white cotton cloth and comes with an elastic ear band. It can be reused after washing thoroughly. Perambur Carriage works has also produced 45 aprons and handed them over to the Railway hospital. It is in the process of making 50 cots in the next ten days using material available in the workshop, where three-layered masks will also be manufactured.

Electric Locoshed, Erode has produced 200 litres of hand sanitisers so far for consumption in offices, hospitals in the jurisdiction of Salem Division. Electric Loco shed at Arakkonam, Diesel loco shed at Ernakulam  and medical branch of Trivandrum division have also contributed in making hand sanitizers for their internal usage.

Coaching Depot in Basin bridge has also come up with their capacity to make 50 masks on a daily basis utilising the available material and allowing their lady staff to work from home. This will be made out of cotton cloth in single layer. This can be reused after wash. This masks will be used for railway employees and in railway hospitals.