NEW DEHLI — Indian Railways is working to convert at least 5,000 passenger cars into temporary hospital space, Bloomberg news reports.
The conversion process includes installing mosquito nets, charging stations for mobile devices and computers, and working space for paramedics.
With its 125 hospitals, the railroad is making room for about 6,500 beds to handle coronavirus cases. The rail network stopped all passenger service in March — a move not seen before, even during war.
W Cook: I like your outside the box thinking. The time needed for finding patient space for the current pandemic is too short to pursue the idea. I’m working on projects to get 1000 patient care spaces available for use in under 30 days. We think we have the spaces but one critical supplier indicated the concrete work to support their large stainless steel tank will take 30 days to get into place and work won’t start until a contract is in place. The idea of multiple tanks to obtain the desired capacity got a “dear in the headlights” response. Even whe this is worked around, the project has to advertised, bid, awarded then the contract winner have to sub-contract the tank construction and installation. Before anyone can be brought to the facility, all state and federal inspections must be completed.
We’re struggling to get regulators to recognize we looking at building something that will be in service for 90 days and then demolished. We’re having some people insist on same constructions and performance for the temporary facilities as would be used in a facility built for a 50 year service life. Those that would have to approve the new concepts and approve them are also busy working on dealing with the pandemic and don’t have time for new-fangled ideas.
Once the pandemic is passes, the need for the facilities will be mostly forgotten. Those that remember will not be able to obtain the funding to build and maintain the facilities we hope we never need. We struggle to keep up the facilities we use every day (roads) so I don’t see empty medical facilities being kept ready “just in case.”
We’ll somehow muddle through this crisis and hopefully apply some lessons learned to be better prepared next time but I fear the lessons will be quickly forgotten.
Mister Cook:
Excellent thinking. I am not sure it is practical but you don’t know that until you look into it a little bit. This is no time for “Not Invented Here”. Thinking outside the box – I like that.
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Why can’t some bi-level auto carrier cars be insulated and shrink wrapped as emergency hospital cars and the brand new Amtrak kitchen cars be released from storage in Florida and put in these hospital cars? A company should be set up by experienced member of AAPRCO’s to build and manage these trains to move to hot spots for now and in the future.
The Private Varnish folks could use some of their cars for support functions. Maybe there are surplus bi-level passenger cars that are on the sale block that could be quickly converted.
It would really be good PR for the club or the railroad to handle the un-infected patients from local hospitals to make room for the virus-x19 patients.