New Delhi: Railways is trying to address the biggest concern of long distance travelers – train toilets. It on Saturday began improving on-board services focusing on regular cleaning of toilets, wash basins and garbage collection in running trains, including providing access to clean toilets to millions of passengers traveling in general or unreserved coaches.This is in sharp contrast to the existing practice where toilets, basins and common areas in general coaches of running trains are not cleaned at regular intervals unless there is a complaint. A top Railway official said that this provision is being introduced for the first time. Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnav said, “In the existing system, cleaning is done only in reserved coaches. We have also included general coaches in the new reform.”Officials said their aim is to ensure cleaning of toilets in such coaches every 1-2 hours.Vaishnav also said that the earlier “Clean Train Station” concept, which provided thorough cleaning at limited stations, is now being replaced with a continuous cleaning model from the origin of the train to its destination. “The issue of toilets, dustbins, cabin interiors, water availability and minor electrical or mechanical faults like lights off will be addressed continuously during the journey,” he said.The minister announced two reforms – ‘For better on-board services’ and ‘Gati Shakti rail-based logistics through cargo terminals and cargo related facilities’ – as a part of his target to implement “52 reforms in 52 weeks in 2026”.To begin with, around 80 long-distance trains with high passenger patronage – 4-5 trains per zone – will be covered under the reforms related to on-board services in the next six months and in three years, it will be implemented across all trains. Vaishnav said fully technology-enabled professional teams will be engaged with defined service level agreements, specifying the frequency of cleaning and more frequent cleaning during peak hours. Continuous toilet cleaning, garbage removal, cabinetry cleaning, linen handling and related services will be ensured, and AI-generated images of cleaning activities will be monitored and analyzed.Vaishnav said linen distribution, linen collection and cleaning functions, which were earlier distributed among separate agencies, will also now be integrated and assigned to a single unit.He said the reforms in the cargo terminal segment are expected to generate additional revenue of about Rs 30,000 crore from the new Gati Shakti Cargo Terminal (GCT) in the next three years. The most significant additions are the integration of processing within cargo terminals, turning them into “cargo plus processing” hubs and extending the contract period from the existing 35 years to 50 years.
