Lok Sabha Question No. 4437 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2025-08-20
Subject: Sanitation Standards in Sleeper/General Coaches
Ministry: RAILWAYS
Asked by: Dr. Shrikant Eknath Shinde, Shri Ravindra Dattaram Waikar, Smt. Shambhavi, Shri Rajesh Verma, Shri Naresh Ganpat Mhaske

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF RAILWAYS LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 4437 TO BE ANSWERED ON 20.08.2025

## SANITATION STANDARDS IN SLEEPER/GENERAL COACHES

4437. DR. SHRIKANT EKNATH SHINDE:

SHRI RAJESH VERMA:

SHRI NARESH GANPAT MHASKE:

SMT. SHAMBHAVI:

SHRI RAVINDRA DATTARAM WAIKAR:

## Will the Minister of RAILWAYS be pleased to state:

- (a) whether the Government has reviewed the sanitation standards in sleeper and general coaches of Railways and if so, the details thereof;
- (b) the steps taken/being taken to improve availability of clean toilets and waste disposal in long-distance trains;
- (c)  whether  regular  audits  and  cleanliness  ranking  systems  cover general-class travel experience and if so, the details thereof;
- (d)  the  manner  in  which  Government  proposes  to  ensure  parity  in hygiene across all travel classes; and
- (e)  the  manner  in  which  these  improvements  support  health  and welfare of economically weaker rail users ?

## ANSWER

MINISTER OF RAILWAYS, INFORMATION & BROADCASTING AND ELECTRONICS & INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY

(SHRI ASHWINI VAISHNAW)

- (a) to (e) Indian Railways makes every endeavour to provide clean and hygienic environment to all class of passengers.

Major initiatives taken in this regard are briefly summarized as under:-

-  Elimination of direct discharge of human waste from trains through installation  of  bio-toilets  in  passenger  coaches.  The  details  of provision of Bio-toilets (as on 30.06.2025) are as under:
-  Mechanized Cleaning of passenger  coaches including sleeper and general coaches is being carried out during primary and secondary maintenance. Machines  like high pressure jet cleaners, floor scrubbers, wet and dry vacuum cleaners etc. are deployed. Around 200 depots have mechanized cleaning contracts.
-  Implementation of Clean Train Station (CTS) concept at nominated stations  for  limited  mechanized  cleaning  attention  to  identified trains (including sleeper and general coaches) during their scheduled  stoppages  enroute.  Around  60  CTS  stations  have  been nominated.
-  On Board Housekeeping Service (OBHS) is provided in long distance trains for cleaning of coach toilets, doorways, aisles and passenger compartments during the run of the trains. At present, OBHS facility is available in around 1350 pairs of trains.
-  Regular Pests and Rodent control is done in all coaches.
-  Waste  generated  inside  trains  is  collected  and  disposed  of  at around 500 designated en-route stations identified for this purpose.

| Period   | No. of Bio-Toilets fitted     |
|----------|-------------------------------|
| 2004-14  | 9,587 only                    |
| 2014-25  | 3,33,191 (more than 34 times) |

-  Special Cleanliness Campaigns under Swachh Bharat Abhiyan and cleanliness  drives/campaigns  are  organized  regularly  over  Indian Railways with the objective to achieve significant and sustainable improvements in cleanliness standards.
-  To ensure cleanliness, regular checks/surprise checks are conducted  by  supervisors/senior  officials  at  Divisional,  Zonal  & Headquarter level with special focus on general class.
-  Rail  Madad  portal  has  been  developed  to  enable  passengers  to highlight their needs and seek assistance on passenger amenities, cleanliness, security etc, on mobile app or through SMS irrespective of class of travel.

*****