Karnataka

An automatic coach washing plant will now clean exterior of trains in Bengaluru

Written by : Prajwal Bhat

A mechanical facility that can clean the exterior of train coaches was inaugurated at the Krantivira Sangolli Rayanna railway station in Bengaluru on Wednesday morning.

The Automatic Coach Washing Plant (ACWP) will use lesser water and reduce the labour required for the manual method of cleaning a train. It was inaugurated by AK Singh, General Manager, South Western Railway, on Wednesday.

“Take a look at Karnataka’s first Automatic Railway Coach Washing Plant installed at Bengaluru City Railway Station. Reducing water, cost, time and manpower required, the plant paves the way for clean coaches for passengers in an efficient and eco-friendly manner,” Piyush Goyal, Union Minister of Railways and Commerce & Industry, tweeted.

Officials claimed that the automated facility uses 300 litres of water to clean one coach as compared to 450-500 litres used when manual cleaning is done. The automated facility requires just one person to monitor the control room as opposed to six people who are usually involved in cleaning the exterior of a train. 

Officials added that a 24-coach train will be cleaned in eight minutes while it is moving at a speed of 5-6 km per hour. The facility chooses the use of detergents and cleaning agents, and uses a high pressure water jet. It will also recycle waste water and use it for washing purposes again and barely use 15% of fresh water, an official from South Western Railways stated.

Similar train washing facilities will be introduced in the Yeshwanthpur railway station and the New Baiyappanahalli railway station.

The facility was manufactured by Oriental Manufacturers in Vadodara. It has been procured by the Indian Railways at a cost of Rs 1.67 lakh.

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