Vizag-Secunderabad Vande Bharat Express gets ‘flight-like’ onboard cleaning services

We are counselling people against littering at will on trains and we will soon impose heavy penalties if they refuse to mend their ways, says Divisional Railway Manager Anup Satpathy

The Vande Bharat Express between Visakhapatnam and Secunderabad, the prestigious semi high-speed train, has an “aeroplane type” onboard cleaning service.

The Waltair Division has become the first to introduce such a service. It is learnt that Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw has decided to extend the facility to other Vande Bharat trains in the country.

The collection of wastes by the cleaning staff will be more frequent and vacuum cleaners will be used for deep cleaning, according to sources.

The littering of wastes on the cushioned seats and floor of the state-of-the-art train by some irresponsible passengers has drawn flak from various sections on the social media. The rake belongs to the East Coast Railway (ECoR) and is maintained by the Waltair Division of ECoR.

Soon after the stone pelting incident near the Kancharapalem railway gate, which resulted in damage to a glass window pane of the train, Divisional Railway Manager Anup Satpathy had directed the Railway Protection Force (RPF) personnel to create awareness among the people living in the colonies and slums close to the railway track not to trespass onto the tracks as there was a danger of being knocked down by the train.

The RPF Post at Duvvada had since been creating awareness among the students of schools and colleges located in the vicinity of the station during the last couple of weeks.

“A change in the mindset of people is required to end the menace of throwing wastes at will and thinking that someone else will clear the mess. Heavy penalties for littering and anti-social behaviour, as is done in Singapore, can result in a drastic change in public behaviour. The Vande Bharat trains are equipped with CC cameras, which can easily detect mischief-mongers,” Mr. Satpathy told The Hindu.