Ministry of Railways
Dedicated Environment & Housekeeping Management Departments Established at Divisions, Zonal Railways and Railway Board to Monitor and Handle Waste Management Related Matters: Railway Minister
On Board Housekeeping Service Available in 1,450 pairs of Long-distance Trains to Ensure end-to-end Cleanliness and Hygiene
Clean Train Station Scheme Implemented at 63 Stations Covering 2,800 Trains, Ensuring Cleaner Coaches, Improved Hygiene and Enhanced Passenger Convenience
Indian Railways Commissioned 13 Bio-gas Plants, 171 Composting Plants and 8 Material Recovery Facilities at Stations to Promote Scientific Waste Processing and Environmentally Sustainable Waste Management
प्रविष्टि तिथि:
24 JUL 2026 4:37PM by PIB Delhi
Indian Railways has adopted a comprehensive mechanism for collection, treatment and disposal of waste generated from trains and railway stations. At stations, twin dustbins have been provided for collection and segregation of waste at source. Waste generated in the trains is collected at regular intervals at nominated waste handling stations. These stations have tie-ups with Urban Local Bodies/Municipal Authorities for proper disposal of waste.
Further, Indian Railways has also established Waste processing plants as Bio-gas, Composting and Plastic Bottle Crushing Machines at different stations based on operational needs. Details of such facilities are as below:
|
S.No.
|
Type of Plant
|
No. of Plants commissioned
|
Installed Capacity
|
|
1
|
Bio-gas plant
|
13
|
5,095 kg per day
|
|
2
|
Composting Plant
|
171
|
24,817 kg per day
|
|
3
|
Material Recovery Facility
|
08
|
7,725 kg per day
|
|
4
|
Plastic Bottle Crushing Machines
|
858 machines
|
Pursuant to the applicability of new Solid Waste Management Rules, 2026 and directions of the Hon'ble Supreme Court, Indian Railways has initiated a series of measures for strengthening solid waste management across its establishments.
The Railway Board has issued Standard Operating Procedure (SoP) on Solid Waste Management covering railway stations, trains, railway colonies, hospitals, workshops, production units and all other railway establishments. SoP provides detailed guidelines regarding segregation, collection, transportation, processing and scientific disposal of waste, monitoring mechanisms and well defined responsibilities at all administrative levels.
Zonal Railways has initiated identification of its units which qualify as bulk waste generators as per SWM Rules, 2026. An “As-is Waste Characterization and Quantification Study” has been planned to assess the existing waste generation across all Indian Railways establishments and trains.
Zonal Railways have also nominated dedicated Nodal Officers to prepare comprehensive action plans for Waste Management, conduct periodic audits, monitor implementation and regularly share compliance reports to Railway Board. Divisions have also been directed to prepare action plans for effective waste management. Dedicated Environment & Housekeeping Management (EnHM) departments have been established at Divisions, Zonal Railways and Railway Board level to monitor and handle waste management related matters.
To ensure effective end-to-end cleanliness and hygiene management in trains, On board housekeeping service (OBHS) is provided which is currently available in 1450 (pairs) identified long distance trains.
The Clean Train Station (CTS) scheme at 63 stations has been implemented covering 2800 trains. Under this scheme, a dedicated team of staff equipped with cleaning equipment carries out cleaning of coach toilets & washbasins and collects garbage from train’s dustbins during halt time.
This information was provided by the Union Minister for Railways, Information & Broadcasting and Electronics & Information Technology, Shri Ashwini Vaishnaw, in a reply to a question in the Rajya Sabha today.
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Dharmendra Tewari/ Dr. Nayan Solanki/ Ritu Raj/ Manik Sharma
(रिलीज़ आईडी: 2288897)
आगंतुक पटल : 204