A new viruscide which sticks to surfaces and kills coronavirus for up to 30 days is being used by a train company across its entire fleet of trains, stations and staff areas.
Govia Thameslink Railway (GTR) is using the product to provide another “layer of protection for passengers” who need to travel during the Covid-19 pandemic.
The train company says stations and staff areas are treated with more short-term viruscides, and all 2,700 of its train carriages are sanitised every night.
GTR says the viruscide is another addition to its “already enhanced cleaning regime”.
A specially-developed app also tells staff when each train carriage was last cleaned with the long-lasting viruscide.
Railway staff applying viruscide to trains (photo GTR)
Engineering Director at GTR Steve Lammin said: “Since the outbreak of this pandemic we have been doing all we can to protect our passengers and staff by ensuring our trains, and stations have enhanced cleaning regimes, and a switch in focus to high-touch areas and the increased use of anti-viral agents.
“We are now using a product that will kill Coronavirus for up to 30 days and we are applying this to surfaces across our network on a 21-day cycle. We want to do everything possible to work with passengers and staff to keep them safe and this will further protect everyone who is working so hard for this country.”
The train company has also ordered 1,000 no-touch hand sanitisers for staff and passengers during the pandemic which are being distributed to stations.
What else GTR has done to tackle the virus since the outbreak of the pandemic
• GTR has more than 100 extra cleaning staff at work, and there is a significant focus on cleanliness and social distancing by everyone on the front line
• Wiping down places passengers touch such as ticket machines, chip and pin machines, door buttons, tables, grab poles and handles, really focusing to make sure they are clean and safe
• Introducing better, anti-viral cleaning products which kill Covid-19 have been in constant use even before the introduction of the long-lasting product, along with microfibre cloths to catch the virus rather than spreading it into the air
• High pressure dry steam and microfibre units are used for enhanced cleaning and bleach fogging for decontamination where someone has been confirmed as having Covid-19
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