Cleanliness is a continuous process and every endeavour is made to keep passenger carrying trains in properly maintained and clean condition.
Some of the major initiatives taken by Indian Railways towards improvement of cleanliness in non-AC coaches as well as AC coaches including the toilets are as follows:
- Cleaning of coaches including toilets of trains is done at both ends, including mechanized cleaning.
- On Board Housekeeping Service (OBHS) has been provided in nearly 1090 pairs of important Mail/Express trains for cleaning of coach toilets, doorways, aisles and passenger compartments during the run of the trains.
- ‘Coach Mitra’ service has been provided in around 1050 pairs of OBHS trains as a single window interface to register coach related requirements of passengers such as cleaning, disinfestation, linen, train lighting, air conditioning and watering of coaches.
- Clean Train Station (CTS) scheme has also been prescribed for limited mechanized cleaning attention to identified trains including cleaning of toilets during their scheduled stoppages enroute at nominated stations. 39 CTS stations are operational.
- Pest and rodent control of coaches is being done on a regular basis through authorised professional agencies.
- Earlier, dustbins were provided in AC Coaches only. Now, provision of dustbin is also being done in Non-AC coaches.
- Indian Railways is proliferating bio-toilets on its coaching stock so that no human waste is discharged from coaches on to the track.
- Regular checks are conducted at officers / supervisors levels, and corrective action is taken wherever any deficiency is noticed.
- Cleanliness drives and awareness campaigns are also carried out from time to time.
The authorised vendors of pantry car in trains having pantry car and authorised vendors in other trains without pantry car service do have legitimate access to vend in all coaches including non-AC coaches of passenger trains. Other authorised onboard staff like housekeeping, maintenance and staff providing other amenities also have access to the coaches.
Care is taken by concerned authorities of Railways to verify the antecedents of these staff. However, instances are reported wherein unauthorised vendors and other unauthorised person like ticketless travellers, males travelling in ladies coaches, able bodied person travelling in coaches reserved for disabled persons, unreserved person travelling in reserved coaches, beggars, eunuchs causing nuisance etc. are found to enter unauthorisedly in trains / unauthorised coaches. Intensive drives under different sections of Railways Act are undertaken regularly to apprehend and prosecute such unauthorised persons and fine of nearly Rs. 17 crore has been collected from such persons in the current year.
This information was given by the Minister of Railways and Commerce & Industry, Shri Piyush Goyal in a written reply to a question in Rajya Sabha today.
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SG/AP