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Chicago-based commuter railway Metra has announced that it will close one car in all its trains to safeguard the train crew from the coronavirus (Covid-19) pandemic.

It has also asked the passengers to follow social distancing when they are travelling on the trains.

The car that will be closed on the ten diesel lines is the cab car, which is the car located furthest from the locomotive while the car at the north end of the electric line will be shut for passengers.

In a statement, Metra said: “Safety is the primary goal of this new procedure. It will limit opportunities for our train crews to potentially be exposed to Covid-19, and limit opportunities for our passengers to be exposed.

“Conductors will continue to ensure at all times that passengers safely board and disembark from trains.”

To ensure that the passengers implement social distancing, Metra has requested the passengers to not sit in nearby seats and to not crowd at the aisles or train vestibules.

In cases where there are no seats in a car that are 6ft apart, passengers have been asked to move to another car.

Passengers are also asked to stay in their seats until the train stops at the station. The train crew will ensure that there is extra time for all passengers to leave and board the train.

Earlier this week, a Metra conductor was reported to have tested positive for Covid-19.

The Covid-19 pandemic has so far killed more than 50,000 and infected one million people globally. The US has reported over 245,000 cases and 6,000 deaths.

The post Covid-19: Metra closes one train car for passengers appeared first on Railway Technology.