Kochi: Tired of complaining about untidy toilets or dirt and grime in a coach? The railways promise to change all that as the process is underway to implement ‘On Board Housekeeping Services’ (OBHS) in 27 trains originating from the state.
“We’ll introduce the service first in Mail and Express trains starting from Ernakulam Junction. The tenders for the same will be floated by the month-end. This is part of the efforts to raise the cleanliness rating from one star to three star,” said senior divisional commercial manager V.C. Sudheesh.
Under the scheme, a team of cleaning workers has been hired by the railways to keep coach toilets, doorways, aisles and passenger coaches neat during the journey from the originating to terminating stations.
Though the scheme was introduced for the first time in two trains – Kerala Express and Millennium Express – in the division last August, the same
was discontinued after the “poor performance of the Andhra Pradesh-based
contractors.”
However, commuters in the state will have to wait longer for availing of the ‘Clean My Coach’ initiative of the railways under which passengers can get their dirty coaches cleaned by sending an SMS to 58888. The service is now available in 1,297 trains.
“The service is provided only in trains having the OBHS facility and will be introduced in the 27 trains step by step,” the official said. Meanwhile, a survey among passengers conducted by the Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation (IRCTC) found Ernakulam to be the cleanest station in the A-1 category in the division and 12th across the country.
