Title - More Northern Railway trains to get bio-toilets

After the successful run of bio-toilets installed in Nizamuddin-Indore Inter-City train, Northern Railway has decided to install such toilets in all trains maintained by the Delhi division by the end of this financial year.

The Delhi division has fixed a target of installing 3,000 bio-toilets in 750 coaches in the current financial year.

“All coaches of Delhi division will be fitted with green toilets this financial year. Bio-toilets will be installed in coaches maintained by other divisions of Northern Railway in the next phase,” said a senior NR official.

The project of installing bio-toilets started with the Indore Inter-City Express in April this year. One rake of the train fitted with bio-toilets in all its coaches was pressed into service on April 13.

“In the first phase, several trains such as Shatabdi, Rajdhani and Duranto Express are being covered. Bio-toilets have already been installed in some 400 coaches of different trains,” the official added.

The new-age toilets have been designed by the Indian Railways jointly with the Defence Research and Development Establishment. While the green toilets prevent discharge of faecal matter on the tracks and help in maintaining cleanliness, it also does away with manual scavenging and prevents corrosion of tracks due to open discharge.

The toilet is designed in such a way that it won’t choke as a tank inlet has been provided with a valve, which can manually be operated to clear any blockage. Railway officials said the toilets need the least maintenance. Anaerobic bacteria are also fed into the tank over a period of time. Each toilet costs around Rs 1 lakh, almost five times more than the conventional toilet.