Chennai: As the CST-Chennai Express arrived on platform number one at the Chennai Central railway station and ground to a halt at 4.45pm on Thursday, alighting passengers were greeted by an announcement on the public address system: "Passengers with symptoms of fever and headache, please approach the medical desk at the end of the platform."

Ten people four men and six women - reported at the desk where doctors from Chennai corporation and Southern Railway were waiting. All of them were screened and asked to leave, except a man who had boarded the train from Nagari in Andhra Pradesh. He was found to be having symptoms of the H1N1 flu. However, he managed to quietly slip away after doctors informed him that he would have to be taken to a hospital for further checks.

Southern Railway started screening passengers from Maharashtra at the Central and Egmore railway stations at 4pm on Thursday with assistance from the Tamil Nadu health department. The CST-Chennai Express and the Mumbai-Chennai Mail arrives at Central while the Dadar-Chennai Express arrives at Egmore.

"All passengers travelling from Maharashtra by trains will be screened for H1N1 infection at Chennai Central and Chennai Egmore railway stations for which separate desks comprising medical teams have been set up. Frequent announcements are being made on the public address system at all important stations to create an awareness among the travelling public, particularly passengers coming from Maharashtra," said Southern Railway chief public relations officer A J Accamma.

Since the H1N1 virus spreads by droplet infection among humans, it has been decided to provide sufficient number of face masks to traveling ticket examiners (TTE) and superintendents of trains bound for Maharashtra so that they can be distributed to passengers suffering from cough, cold and sneezing bouts.

Director of public health Dr S Illango and Southern Railway chief medical director Dr A Elangovan kicked off the distribution of face masks to TTEs and train superintendents of Maharashtra-bound trains at the Chennai Central on Thursday.

"Trains from Maharashtra will arrive at platform number one at the Central station and at platform number seven at the Egmore station. Medical desks have been set up at the exit points on these platforms to screen passengers. Doctors will continue checks in the coming days. Passengers from two trains were screened at Egmore and one at Central on Thursday," Accamma said.

"We have all the resources to conduct screening. The railway medical department has around 200 doctors in Chennai," Southern Railway chief medical director Dr A Elangovan pointed out.