Railways makes a small beginning in keeping the tracks clean

Golden Rock Workshop starts fixing bio toilets in coaches that come for overhauling

August 19, 2014 10:15 am | Updated 10:15 am IST - TIRUCHI:

'The bio toilet' being fixed in the railway coaches will prevent dumping ofhuman waste on the tracks. File Photo

'The bio toilet' being fixed in the railway coaches will prevent dumping ofhuman waste on the tracks. File Photo

Bio toilets, an eco friendly system to dispose human waste, are being fitted in railway coaches sent for periodic overhaul (POH) to the Golden Rock Railway Workshop here.

The environment-friendly green toilets have been installed at present in five coaches that were sent for a POH to the over 85-year-old workshop.

Bio toilets are being fitted on another couple of coaches at the workshop which overhauls passenger coaches – air-conditioned and non–AC besides diesel locomotives.

The bio toilet tanks will prevent open discharge of human waste on the track thereby eliminating the ordeal of removing them.

Instead, the faecal matter will fall into the bio-digestive tank and come into contact with the liquid anaerobic bacteria poured inside.

The waste gets processed inside and from thereon goes into the chlorination tank and comes out as disinfectant liquid, say workshop authorities.

The replacement of conventional toilets with bio toilets is being done on the instruction of the Railway Board. The process of fitting bio toilets in passenger coaches would continue henceforth, said a senior official. One of the salient features of the system is that human waste would not fall on the track making it environment-friendly, said the official.

As a trial measure, the workshop had placed ceramic tiles inside the toilet of an air-conditioned coach that came for a POH recently.

This was done to maintain cleanliness and prevent stagnation of water inside the toilet. An electronic flushing valve had been installed inside the toilet of another air-conditioned coach for the benefit of the passengers, the official added.

0 / 0
Sign in to unlock member-only benefits!
  • Access 10 free stories every month
  • Save stories to read later
  • Access to comment on every story
  • Sign-up/manage your newsletter subscriptions with a single click
  • Get notified by email for early access to discounts & offers on our products
Sign in

Comments

Comments have to be in English, and in full sentences. They cannot be abusive or personal. Please abide by our community guidelines for posting your comments.

We have migrated to a new commenting platform. If you are already a registered user of The Hindu and logged in, you may continue to engage with our articles. If you do not have an account please register and login to post comments. Users can access their older comments by logging into their accounts on Vuukle.