Post News Network
Bhubaneswar, June 2: In order to continue its efforts of providing clean and eco-friendly travel to rail users, East Coast Railway’s (ECoR) carriage repair workshop (CRW) at Mancheswar has decided to retrofit bio-toilets in 80 coaches in the current financial year.
So far, 270 coaches of ECoR have been retrofitted with bio-toilets or zero discharge toilets. So far, neither the Khurda Division nor the Sambalpur division has got its trains equipped with eco-friendly toilets while Waltair division is operating four ‘green’ trains in the zone.
CRW’s chief workshop manager SK Pankaj said all of the coaches would be retrofitted with bio-toilets within four to five years. “The inventory of coaches of ECoR is 2,500 including 400 AC coaches that would be fitted with bio-toilets. They not only help maintain cleanliness by preventing discharge of human waste on the tracks, but also protect tracks from corrosion,” Pankaj said.
A senior official said corrosion costs the Railways over `350-400 crore every year. During an interaction with mediapersons at the workshop, Pankaj said the Railways has decided to impart skill development training to over 1,000 engineering students by July-end at the workshop. A total of 119 ITI and diploma holders have already been imparted training on welding, painting and operations of various equipment installed at the workshop.
In addition to this, 200 students from nine government engineering colleges and 27 private ones are being imparted one-month training. Pankaj further said an agreement would be signed with IIT Bhubaneswar to train engineering students for research in carriage coaches and technology. “The training programme of the Indian Railways is aimed at equipping engineering students with better understanding of the Railways and many facets of engineering,” he said.
Besides, CRW has posted its highest-ever periodical overhauling (POH- repairing of carriages) outturn and has registered an increase of 46 per cent over the last two years.