Bio toilets

First train with bio-toilets chugs into capital

New Delhi, April 23, 2012, DHNS:

It prevents corrosion of tracks due to open discharge
The Indore-Nizamuddin Inter-city Express has become the first train in the Northern Railway to have ‘bio-toilets’ replacing the conventional discharge toilets.  

While the green toilets prevent discharge of faecal matter on the rail tracks and help in maintaining cleanliness, it also does away with manual scavenging and prevents corrosion of rail tracks due to open discharge.

“One rake of the train, fitted with bio-toilets in all its coaches, was pressed into service from April 13. Around 3,000 toilets in around 750 coaches are likely to be installed in different trains during the current financial year,” said Neeraj Sharma, CPRO, Northern Railway.

Similar green toilets have been installed in at least eight other trains including Rajdhani and Duronto Express across the country. The new-age toilets have been designed by the Indian Railways in collaboration with the Defence Research & Development Establishment (DRDE).

“The new toilet will have a collection tank provided with anaerobic bacteria to decompose faecal matter completely and only a colourless, odour-less benign liquid that does not pollute the environment shall be released.

The tank has seven chambers and by the time the excreta traverses through the chambers and reaches the exit, it is fully decomposed. The resultant water passes through the chlorinate chamber to control its pH level and microbe content in it,” a railway official said.

The design of the toilet also takes care of choking of toilets as a tank inlet has been provided with a valve which can manually be operated to clear the choke. The railway officials said the toilets require least maintenance and the anaerobic bacteria are fed into the tank over a period of time.

Housekeeping service
To improve the house keeping services in trains, Delhi division has introduced the On-Board House Keeping Services (OBHS) on four Duronto and 11 Shatabdi Express trains. The service has also been extended to two mail express trains – Brahmaputra Mail and Magadh Express.

Under the scheme, 4-6 janitors (cleaning staff) led by a supervisor are deployed on every trip. They carry requisite cleaning agents and cleaning equipment in the form of kit to clean the toilets and the sitting area.