The Railway Protection Force (RPF) has stopped providing armed escorts in freight trains from Tatanagar station from Friday after a few of its jawans with travel history to Delhi tested positive for Covid-19.

Goods trains are therefore plying without escorts on different routes from Tatanagar station under the Chakradharpur railway division.

RPF inspector (Tatanagar) M.K. Sahoo said the decision was taken after two RPF personnel tested positive in Kharagpur in Bengal and Balasore in Odisha recently.

“Some RPF personnel from the Kharagpur division, who had been to Delhi, have tested positive in Kharagpur and Balasore. However, the RPF authority has sent a directive to stop providing any escort in trains from Tatanagar as well,” Sahoo said.

Though the passenger trains have stopped plying since March 23, freight train service continues as usual.

Over 50 goods trains ply through Tatanagar every day.

Senior divisional commercial manager (Chakradharpur), Manish Pathhak, said RPF escorts used to accompany express, mail and superfast trains.

“Earlier, the RPF escorts in passenger trains also used to inspect the tracks. That has stopped after the lockdown. We have started running a two-bogie train for track inspection. The RPF used to provide escorts in these trains, but not anymore,” Pathak said.