To Fight a Fast-Moving Pandemic, Get a Faster Hospital

France’s latest weapon in the fight against Covid-19 is a high-speed train. This week, the French government adapted a five-car TGV (Train a Grande Vitesse) to serve as a mobile hospital. It’s intended to shuttle patients from the hardest hit region to hospitals with more capacity, easing the stress on resources. Equipped with ventilators and medical staff, the train started service Thursday, transporting 20 patients from the cities of Strasbourg and Mulhouse in the country’s northeastern Grand Est (“Greater East”) region to hospitals in the currently less-affected Loire Region.

There are good reasons for taking the fight against Covid-19 onto the rails. France, like several other European nations, has instituted a lockdown that bars all non-essential travel between cities. Turning the TGV into a giant, high-speed ambulance gives healthcare workers a more spacious — and thus safer — environment to work. The train can reach its destination faster and more smoothly than a road vehicle, and carry more people than a helicopter.