Foot-operated flushes to ionised AC air, post-Covid train coaches are here

The features, detailed in a booklet circulated by the Railways, include a host of foot-operated fixtures including taps, soap dispensers, lavatory doors, flush valves and door latches

From foot-operated soap dispensers and toilet flushes to door handles manoeuvred with the forearm and handrails coated with anti-microbial copper, the Railways' new coaches for post corona travel launched on Tuesday come packed with features to help stave off infection.

The first two coaches that rolled out from the Railway Coach Factory in Kapurthala also have fixtures coated with titanium dioxide and the provision for plasma air equipment in AC ducts to sterilise interiors using ionised air, officials said.

Giving details of the two coaches, one air-conditioned and other non-air conditioned, they said the use of hands to navigate washrooms and other