New Delhi, Mar 27 (IANS): With the number of novel coronavirus (Covid-19) cases in India rising to 677, the Indian Railways on Thursday said that it will hand over its newly built 332-bed hostel in Gujarats Vadodara as a backup quarantine centre.

The Railway Ministry said in a tweet, "Indian Railways has identified the new hostel building of Mumbai-Ahmedabad high-speed rail project training institute in Vadodara for creating a backup quarantine centre. It includes 168 rooms having 334 beds and 12 big common rooms."

The step from the national transporter came in the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic spreading across the country, causing 16 deaths and with over 43 fresh cases being registered on Thursday.

Earlier, the Indian Railways had suspended all passenger, mail and express train services till April 14 to combat the spread of Covid-19. Only freight train services are functional to transport essential items across the country.

The decision to stop passenger trains service was taken after Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday announced a nationwide lockdown for 21 days.

Meanwhile, the Indian Railways has also stopped production at its several units across the country and has started manufacturing medical beds, sanitisers, IV stands and other essential things required by the hospitals.