You have to love the Train à Grande Vitesse, the TGV, France’s iconic high-speed train, the pride of a nation of vehicular pioneers. And in the midst of an absolutely horrible disease outbreak (the coronavirus pandemic and the illness), the French have put the TGV to a novel use: carrying severely ill patients to less-impacted areas.
As NPR reports, eastern France is hard-hit by the virus and hospitals there are overwhelmed. With too few beds for sick patients, the country decided to turn one of its TGV trains into something we don’t quite have a word for–part ambulance, part rolling hospital, and part high-speed train.
France 24 provides some further detail on the composition of the train and its staff in this medical configuration. In total, other than train operators and patients, 50 medical staff are on board. Each car, the report states, carries a doctor, an anesthetist, and three nurses. NPR reports that the rail cars each contain ventilators, oxygen, and other supplies to support up to four patients. The Telegraph writes that the train’s dining car was transformed into an operations center for the journey.
The TGV supplements some other novel transportation that Europeans are using to carry COVID-19 patients between facilities. France is also using an Airbus plane to move patients, and Germany is using helicopters, reports France 24.
The idea is to continue to rotate patients away from highly affected areas to prevent hospitals and doctors from becoming overwhelmed. The doctor in charge of the operation, Lionel Lamhaut, told France 24 that he expects this rotation to continue as needed.
Why a train instead of an aircraft? The TGV is smoother and roomier, Lamhaut said. The Telegraph adds that the idea was originally conceived to quickly move those injured in a potential terrorist attack, and was tested last year. Take a look at the powerful images below of the TGV being used to transport patients.
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