Indian Railways has installed over 2,000 bio-toilets in coaches to bring eco-friendly travel to rail passengers.
“We have completed installing a total of 2,096 bio-toilets in coaches at the Rail Coach Factory (RCF) at Kapurthala till March this year,” a senior RCF official said.
The bio-toilet has the advantage of preventing corrosion of railway tracks, as it prevents discharge of human waste from the coaches. According to the official, the Railways had to spend `350 crore every year to offset the damage from corrosion. Indirectly, it will also have a negative impact on manual scavenging.
Developed by the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO), the bio-toilets have been fitted in sleeper and AC coaches. “Gradually, all coaches will be fitted with bio-toilets as per the plan,” the official said.
Meanwhile, touching a new high, the Rail Coach Factory at Kapurthala has created a record production of over 1,700 coaches for premier and other mail/express trains in 2013-14.
The Rail Coach Factory has produced 1,701 coaches including 389 Linke Hofman Busch (LHB) coaches in the fiscal 2013-14, which is highest ever production in the unit so far, said the official.
The coaches will be used mostly in Rajdhani, Shatabdi, Double Decker and mail/express trains.