Trains halted by Indian Railways, but on right track against COVID-19

For the first time in its history Indian Railways did not run passenger trains on its birthday In 2020 as the railways completed 167 years after its first run on April 16 1853 no passenger trains ran on the day due to the COVID19 lockdown1974 Railway StrikeThings have been different this year due to the COVID19 pandemic India is in the middle of a neverbefore lockdown and since March 22 passenger trains across the country were halted for months Only essential freight and parcel trains were running to maintain the supply chains So far over 20400 tonnes of consignments have been loaded since the lockdown began transporting over 1150 tonnes of medical items in various parts of the country till April 18Never in its history there has been such a long interruption in services Not during the World Wars not during the 1974 Railway Strike or any other national calamity or natural disaster Even in Mumbai services have never halted for such a long period even during terror strikes or monsoon This shutdown of passenger services is unprecedented in history an Indian Railway spokesperson saidWe can say that the 1974 railway strike was a bit of exception since no manpower was available to run trains and employees were angry and trade unions were negotiating but then too during the end days essential freights ended up running he addedThe 20day Indian Railway strike led by veteran leader and late Railway Minister George Fernandes was held to demand an eighthour working day for locomotive staff by All India Railwaymensrsquo Federation AIRF and a raise in pay scale which had remained stagnant for many yearsMumbai and its lifelineThe interruption in services is rare even for Mumbai the city where it all started There have been wars bomb blasts terror attacks strikes bandhs and even the monsoon that have halted rail services occasionally for a few hours but a complete shutdown is first to be seenI remember the July 2006 serial train bombings There had been extensive damage to overhead wires and trains But we could not afford to stop services We got the services back on track by 1045 pm within four hours of the incident said a senior officer from Western Railway in MumbaiRecalling recent times he said rains and flooding led to the submerging of rail tracks and suspension of services beyond Nalasopara for some time a few years ago but services were running in other sections in the worst of monsoonThe terror attack on Mumbai CSMT in 2008 was another such incident that led to panic and halting of trains for a few hours Around 50 people were killed and over 100 injured at the station premises in one of the deadliest attacks on the city but services were restored early in the morning said a Central Railway officialBut with the extended complete lockdown now passenger services in India have remained closed We are passing through unforeseen times another official saidIn War and PandemicDuring the first and second World Wars ammunition was produced in railway workshops particularly hand grenades The workshop administrative office itself was used as an armoury The railway workshops produced 45inch howitzer and 25pounder shell forgings Wartime activities at rail workshops did not just mean churning out more rail coaches for troops it also meant the building of other vehicular bodies and hundreds of ambulances watercars tanks and rugged lorriesOther minor jobs of major wartime importance were heavy orders for tent pegs and accessories of all kinds Wagons had to be modified to carry guns machines and ammunition to withstand war fury During the IndiaPakistan war Indian Railways had worked 24x7 to keep the supply chains runningDuring this pandemic the railway workshops are churning out medical equipment isolation coaches masks sanitizers and Personal Protective Equipments PPE Its buildings are turning into quarantine centres Railway production units workshops and field units produced over 30000 PPEs in April 2020 and almost 100000 in May 2020Utilities like faceshields intubation boxes diagnosis cubicles and remotecontrolled medicine trolleys for operation inside COVIDwards were a few innovations from railway workshopsThe Indian Railways Catering and Tourism Corporation IRCTC offered to supply 26 lakh meals daily from various railway kitchens wherever the district administration is willing and able to pick up cooked meals and distribute them among the needy