MADURAI
Very soon, Tiruchi-Manamadurai railway section will be declared a green corridor, free of human waste dropping on the tracks from conventional toilets of trains. Southern Railway is all set to replace conventional toilets with bio-toilets in all coaches of trains passing through this section (excluding Tiruchi railway junction).
Already, Madurai Division of Southern Railway chugged on with the honour of creating the first-ever green corridor of the country’s railway network between Manamadurai and Rameswaram in 2016.
Along with the 114-km-long track of first green corridor, the new section will make Tiruchi-Manamadurai-Rameswaram line the longest green corridor of Indian Railways, running to a distance of 265 km.
“At present, all the trains, except Pallavan Express, that pass through this section have been provided with bio-toilets. The retrofitment of bio-toilets in this train is under way at Madurai Railway Depot,” said Senior Divisional Mechanical Engineer Jay Prakash.
All the four toilets of each of the 24 coaches would be fitted with the undergear tank for bio-toilets along with strengthening of undergear and modification of pipelines. “It takes at least two days for the retrofitment work in each of the coaches. We are expected to complete the work in two months,” he added.
With introduction of bio-toilets that decompose human waste with bacteria, all the toilets in the trains and platforms in railway stations would not be reeking of foul smell. “The work of cleaning platforms of night soil will be done away with, giving a better and hygienic atmosphere,” he added.
The night soil that splashes on the tracks and undergear of trains also slowly corrodes them. “Now corrosion will be prevented and the tracks and undergear of trains will require less maintenance and will have longer life,” he added.
Madurai Division is also planning to make Manamadurai-Madurai and Manamadurai-Virudhunagar sections green corridors in phases.
