Lok Sabha Question No. 1683 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2020-09-21
Subject: Hygiene and Sanitation in Railways
Ministry: RAILWAYS
Asked by: Gowdar Mallikarjunappa Siddeshwara

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF RAILWAYS

## LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 1683 TO BE ANSWERED ON 21.09.2020

## HYGIENE AND SANITATION IN RAILWAYS

## 1683. SHRI G.M. SIDDESHWAR:

Will the Minister of RAILWAYS be pleased to state:

- (a) the  fresh  measures  undertaken  by  the  Government  to  provide necessary facilities for comfortable travel alongwith other programmes/schemes  introduced  to  ensure  overall  hygiene  and cleanliness in Railways;
- (b) whether  the  Railways  has  taken  note  of  lack  of  hygiene  and sanitation at the platforms and in running trains; and
- (c) if so, the details thereof?

## ANSWER

## MINISTER OF RAILWAYS AND COMMERCE & INDUSTRY

## (SHRI PIYUSH GOYAL)

- (a)  Some  fresh  measures  undertaken  by  Indian  Railways  to  provide necessary facilities for comfortable travel are as under:-
- I. Provision  of  energy  efficient  LED  lights  in  coaches  for  better illumination.
- II. Provision of mobile/laptop  charging points in all types of coaches.
- III. Provision  of  stainless  steel  seats  and  partitions,  knurling  of door  centre  grip  poles,  air  suspension  bogies  for  better  riding comfort, GPS based Passenger Information System (PIS), bigger windows  with  polycarbonate  panes,  automatic  sliding  door system in Air conditioned EMU rakes etc. in suburban trains.
- IV. In  view  of  COVID-19  pandemic  and  related  hygiene  issues, Indian  Railways  has  stopped  service  of  cooked  food  and replaced  the  same  with  Ready  to  Eat  (RTE)  meals  in  trains. COVID-19  related  protective  items  such  as  masks,  sanitizers, gloves  etc.  and  takeaway  bedroll  kits/items,  have  been  made available for sale through Multi Purpose Stalls at Stations.
- V. State-of-the-art  Train-set  Vande  Bharat  services  have  been introduced between New Delhi - Varanasi and New Delhi - Shri Mata  Vaishno  Devi  Katra.  These  trains  have  ultra  modern features  like  quick  acceleration,  On  Board  Infotainment  and Global  Positioning  System  (GPS)  based  passenger  information system, automatic sliding doors, retractable footsteps and Zero discharge vacuum bio-toilets etc.
- VI. Various premium train services like Humsafar, Tejas, Antyodaya, Utkrisht Double Decker Air-conditioned Yatri (UDAY), Mahamana and coaches like Deen Dayalu and Anubhuti, which have upgraded interiors/exteriors and improved passenger  amenities,  have  been  introduced  in  various  train services.
- VII. Project Utkrisht has been launched to improve the condition of ICF type coaches running in Mail/Express trains. 416 rakes have been refurbished under Project Utkrisht.
- VIII. Under Project Swarn, Rajdhani and Shatabdi train services have been upgraded across various dimensions, which include coach interiors, toilets, onboard cleanliness, staff behaviour, catering, punctuality, security and on-board entertainment. 65 rakes have been upgraded under this initiative.

Some  of  the  major  initiatives  taken  by  Indian  Railway  towards improvement of cleanliness of stations and trains are as follows :

- I. Introduction  of  mechanized  cleaning  contracts  at  around  950 stations and award of rag picking and garbage disposal contracts at around 1300 stations.
- II. Provision  of  Concrete  washable  aprons  on  platform  tracks  to facilitate washing with water jets.
- III. Provision  of  clean  and  hygienic  toilets  including  Pay  and  Use Toilets at around 850 stations.
- IV. Use of CCTVs has been intensified for monitoring of cleanliness activities at about 700 stations.
- V. Plastic  Bottle  Crushing  machines  have  been  installed  at  370 stations.
- VI. Bio-toilets have been proliferated on coaching stock so that no human  waste  is  discharged  from  coaches  on  to  the  track. Nearly,  2,44,000  bio-toilets  have  been  fitted  in  around  69,000 coaches.
- VII. Cleaning of coaches including toilets of trains is done at both ends including mechanised cleaning.
- VIII. On  Board  Housekeeping  Service  (OBHS)  has  been  provided  in nearly 1100 pairs of important long distance Mail/Express trains for  cleaning  of  coach  toilets,  doorways,  aisles  and  passenger compartments during the run of the trains.
- IX. 'Coach Mitra' service has been provided in around 1060 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.
- X. 39 Clean Train Station (CTS) are operational for limited mechanized cleaning attention to identified trains enroute.
- XI. Pest and rodent control of coaches is being done on a regular basis through authorised professional agencies.
12. XII.
13. Dustbins are provided in AC and non-AC Coaches.
- XIII. Enforcement of Indian Railways (Penalties for activities affecting  cleanliness  at  Railway  Premises)  Rules,  2012  has been intensified.
- XIV. Standard Bid Document  (SBD) and General Conditions of Contract  for  Services  (GCCS)  have  been  issued  to  improve effectiveness of housekeeping / cleaning contracts.
- XV. Third  Party  audit  cum  survey  on  cleanliness  of  major  stations and trains has been carried out to instil healthy competition for improvement.

## XVI. Cleanliness drives and awareness campaign are also conducted from time to time.

(a) & (c) Cleanliness is a continuous process and every endeavour is made to keep the stations/platforms and passenger carrying trains in properly maintained and clean condition. Regular checks on cleanliness are conducted and corrective action taken wherever any deficiency is noticed. However few complaints are received. All efforts are made by the Railways to address the complaints. *****