Cleaning services would translate to regular sanitation at intervals of around 3 to 4 hours every day on a majority of mail and express trains.
The ministry of railways is aiming to overhaul its train hygiene services by harnessing new-age technology to increase the frequency of sanitation works in passenger trains, a top government official said.
Despite ongoing efforts to boost passenger convenience on trains, complaints on hygiene continue to pour in.
Travellers -- especially women -- find the state of toilets even on premium trains unhygienic due to lack of regular maintenance.
"In order to improve train hygiene for passengers, the railways is aiming to bring more mechanisation in toilet sanitation to bring down the cleaning time to 56 seconds. Sanitation is top priority as it directly influences the passenger's travel experience," the official added.
Currently, hygiene works like toilet cleaning only take place when the train stops at major stations due to the amount of time it takes to complete it, the official added.
"Once the cleaning time can be brought down to under a minute, this will allow the railways to undertake works at every three to four stations. It will not have to wait for major stations where the train stops for five to 10 minutes to undertake cleaning works," he said.
The ministry is already moving to cleaning equipment that is a battery-operated one, which allows faster services and reduces the time.
Officials said that cleaning services being undertaken at this frequency would translate to regular sanitation at intervals of around 3-4 hours every day on a majority of mail and express trains. This is a sizeable improvement.
The railways is also in talks with the industry to adopt new technology and materials for the toilets itself.
This will keep them cleaner for a longer time and give passengers a better experience, another official said.
Also, the ministry is also closely looking at options to better the quality of catering and food on passenger trains.
With the introduction of Vande Bharat and Amrit Bharat trains, which feature better designs and more comfortable seating arrangements, the railways has been aiming to quell some of the legacy concerns.
These are primarily the lack of hygiene and quality of onboard services.
Tech to the rescue
- Aim to bring more mechanisation in toilet sanitation to bring down cleaning time to under a minute
- This will allow the Railways to undertake cleaning works every 3-4 stations and not wait for when the train stops for 5 to 10 minutes
- Ministry already moving to battery-operated cleaning equipment, which allows faster services
- Talks underway with industry to adopt new technology for the toilets, which will keep them cleaner for longer
Feature Presentation: Ashish Narsale/Rediff
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