Swachh Railways - Addl inputs on Solutions

Dear all:

Given below is a comprehensive set of Issues, Root Causes, Solutions for improving cleanliness in Railways.

Kindly review them and if you have additional inputs on Solutions for improving cleanliness, please submit them as a comment to this post.

We look forward to your inputs!
Ministry of Railways

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Cleanliness Issues in Railways identified:

1. People stick bills/posters outside trains and on platforms
2. Lack of cleanliness of coaches/ stations/ toilets
3. Using toilets when the train is stationary
4. People spitting on the station/on the tracks/inside the train
5. People defecating in the open at railway stations and on tracks
6. Travellers do not flush after using the toilet
7. Railways does not have adequate housekeeping staff to clean toilets
8. Garbage is thrown anywhere
9. Dustbins are missing from compartments, inadequate or not emptied timely
10. Rats and Cockroaches are common in compartments and pantry
11. Smoking in train compartments
12. People sleeping on the floor and pathways
13. People sleeping on the platforms
14. Beggars with no Civic Sense found onboard in trains and on stations

Root Causes for State of Cleanliness identified:
1. Railways has become too large an organization to be managed by the Government
2. Cleanliness standards set for the railway employees to follow are very low
3. The sense of cleanliness/ hygiene among the general public is missing
4. The stations/platforms cater to huge numbers and hence become tough to manage
5. Lack of accountability of cleaning staff, faulty/negligent auditing system
6. Lack of awareness and civic sense
7. Lack of sense of hygiene
8. Not enough dustbins on the stations and inside the train
9. Insensitivity towards fellow passengers
10. No fine/punishment for civic offences
11. Al lot of people are plain ignorant
12. Passengers know that the TTE hardly ever comes in the general class and hence they
don’t feel the need to purchase tickets
13. Number of people traveling in the trains is far more than the capacity
14. Railways still has a very old style of working
15. A large population of people is still uneducated
16. Railways caters to a very large population and it becomes tough to regulate them
17. Railway police is always on its heels

Solutions to improve Cleanliness identified:
1. TTEs should make more visits inside the trains so that they can catch people
traveling without ticket
2. There should be a fine on littering/spitting on stations and inside the train
3. Install more garbage bins on the railway stations and inside the trains
4. The cleaning staff needs to be made accountable for their work
5. One of the cleaning staff should travel the entire length of train with open dustbin in
trolley, so that each passenger can just drop the waste without having to accumulate
in the coach
6. Cleaning of stations and trains must be outsourced to private industry with service
level contracts
7. Cleaning of the bogies and stations should be done under proper supervision
8. People should be sensitised about their fellow passengers
9. Only valid ticket holders to be allowed inside the railway station
10. Price of the platform tickets should could also be increased to control unnecessary
entry by non-travellers
11. Awareness campaigns should be organised
12. Bio toilets should be scrapped and the ones like in aircrafts should be installed
13. Toilets inside the trains should be cleaned after regular intervals
14. People should be fined heavily for ticketing violations
15. CCTV cameras should be installed and effective use should be made
16. Sign boards should be put up at different places with the violation and fines printed
on them
17. The attendants and catering staff should be trained to create awareness among the
passengers
18. Smart cards for vendors & their staffs and coolies should be prepared to prevent
unauthorised access
19. Out-sourced agencies should be made more responsible & require strict inspection
by railway authorities
20. Beggars and unauthorized vendors should not be allowed inside the platform
21. Passenger policy/rights should be posted inside the train
22. A crackdown should be made on people without tickets/platform tickets
23. Elaborate advertisements in TV & Radio should be done to spread awareness
24. Government should release a series of such educational videos for the schools,
colleges, TV stations
25. Use of toilets to be restricted while trains halt in railway stations
26. Sewage collection & better disposal methods should be found
27. Display videos on civic sense at stations Price of the platform tickets should be
increased to control unnecessary entry by non-travellers.
28. Entry of passengers into the stations should be allowed only 1 hour before the departure
time of the train
29. All smoking, pan masala, gutkha shops should be banned on stations
30. TTEs should be given the dual responsibility of checking tickets and overseeing
cleanliness inside the trains more