The Northern Railways (NR) zone of the Piyush Goyal-led Railway Ministry has successfully installed the very first aircraft-style bio vacuum toilets in a fully operational train. A Northern Railways spokesperson told that train number 12005 Kalka-Delhi Shatabdi Express, has become the first such rake with all its coaches consisting of the retrofitted bio-vacuum toilets. In this train, the railway zone has put all retrofitted bio-vacuum toilets in all the coaches, starting from January 27, 2020.
As part of providing clean and hygienic train services for passengers, the retrofitment of aircraft-style bio-vacuum toilets is a priority for the Indian Railways network. With the Kalka-Delhi Shatabdi Express operating with bio-vacuum toilets, the Northern Railways zone has become the first zonal railway to introduce the bio-vacuum toilets in all the coaches of a train in service. According to the zone, the retrofitment of bio toilets was done at the Coach Care Center, New Delhi railway station. Further, the coaches of all the premium trains have been planned for being retrofitted with bio-vacuum toilets
The aircraft-style bio-vacuum toilets are based on sustainable cleanliness as the vacuum evacuation system helps in the elimination of the foul smell and also saves a considerable amount of water in regular consumption. Scientifically, in the bio-vacuum toilet, human waste is discharged into a biodegradable tank system and converted into organic matter through composting, which reduces the bad odour as well as the consumption of water. This step enhances the passenger experience during long hours of travel. According to Indian Railways, vacuum toilets are generally fitted in aircrafts.
In all, bio-vacuum toilets, stainless steel dustbins have been provided for the safe disposal of napkins, bottles, garbage etc. Steam taps are also provided in these toilets which sense the difference in the steam and liquid draining out from the pipeline, and the automatic valves ensure that the bio tank does not overflow. Apart from this, a trolley mounted mobile sewage evacuation machine is being utilized for the disposal of the bio toilet waste from the train coaches.