New Delhi, February 14 The Railway Ministry launched a reform on Saturday aimed at improving cleanliness in long-distance trains by deploying tech-enabled professional teams.
Introducing the reform, Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw told journalists that all coaches, including general class, will be cleaned as and when required.
This will be done by establishing clear responsibility and accountability for deployed service providers and engaging professional, self-disciplined, and proactive teams that exceed customer expectations.
Under the existing Clean Train Station scheme, trains are cleaned at designated stations along their routes. Under the new reform, the cleaning will be carried out throughout the journey at hourly intervals or as required by trained staff deployed onboard, Vaishnaw added.
He stated that monitoring, feedback, and performance management will be conducted in real-time with the help of technology.
The services will include cleaning of all coaches, toilets, and basins; garbage collection; attending to minor repairs; coordinating water refilling as required, and checking and reporting the status of safety equipment.
This will be carried out by trained supervisors and service staff.
"The frequency of cleaning will be regulated based on peak and non-peak hours, and war rooms will be created to monitor the cleaning process with the help of technology," Vaishnaw said.
He explained that 80 trains have been identified for the implementation of the reform, and based on the experience, all other trains will be brought under it.
The minister also introduced another reform under which cargo-related facilities will be created on railway land.
The development of warehouses, grinding units, and processing and aggregation units will be permitted on spare railway land to help improve Railways' freight business. Underutilised godowns will be developed as Gati Shakti Cargo Terminals and cargo facilities.
Efforts will be made to facilitate the easier migration of sidings and private freight terminals into Gati Shakti Cargo Terminals through a simplified process, Vaishnaw said.
He added that a framework for dispute prevention has been outlined in the policy, and dispute resolution has been simplified with powers delegated to Divisional Railway Managers.