Railways plans to step up cleanliness checks on 11 long-distance trains

New Delhi: The Railway Board has drawn up a plan to enhance monitoring and step up cleanliness interventions on long-distance trains with journey durations exceeding 40 hours. Eleven trains have been identified for staff to take time-stamped photos of coaches and toilets at their origin, destination and designated en-route inspection points, officials said.

The owning depots will closely monitor cleanliness and upkeep, while zonal railway officers will conduct weekly reviews of passenger complaints and their redress, they said. The performance of on-board housekeeping service agencies will be assessed using complaints registered on Rail Madad, the official digital platform.

"The on-board housekeeping staff in these trains will be trained to take up small repairs. Dedicated teams comprising plumbers, electrical staff and other requisite maintenance personnel may be deployed en route these trains to speedily address concerns," said a senior official, who did not wish to be identified, adding that special attention will be given to cleaning at identified 'clean train station' points.


"Divisions have been asked to ensure adequate manpower, equipment and consumables," the official added. The identified trains are Vivek Express, Avadh Assam Express, RKMP-Agartala Express, Ahmedabad-Saharsa Express, Danapur-SMVT Bengaluru Express, Pune-Saharsa Express, Amrapali Express, Jhelum Express, Rajgir-Lokmanya Tilak Terminus Express, Howrah-Yesvantpur Express and Amritsar Garib Rath Express.