Indian Railways take every endeavour to keep train coaches in properly maintained/hygienic condition and to provide good quality/hygienic food to passengers as per the prescribed norms and standards by Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI). Some of the major initiatives taken by Indian Railways to maintain cleanliness standards in trains and to bring noticeable improvement in catering services are as under:

1. Installation of bio-toilets in entire fleet of passenger carrying coaches to eliminate the direct discharge of human waste from trains. 

2. Cleaning of coaches including toilets of trains is done at both ends including mechanized cleaning.

3. On Board Housekeeping Service (OBHS) has been provided in identified long distance Mail/Express trains for cleaning of coach toilets, doorways, aisles and passenger compartments during the run of the trains.

4. Clean Train Station (CTS) scheme has also been prescribed for limited mechanized cleaning attention to identified trains including cleaning of toilets during their scheduled stoppages enroute at nominated stations.

5. Special Cleanliness Campaigns under Swachh Bharat Abhiyan and cleanliness drives/campaign are organized regularly over Indian Railways with the objective to achieve significant and sustainable improvements in cleanliness standards of railway stations and trains.  Indian Railway has been consistently making efforts to improve standards of cleanliness of toilets and washrooms by applying state of the art cleaning mechanism.

6. Upgradation of Base Kitchen/Kitchen Units undertaken.

7. CCTV Cameras have been installed in upgraded Base Kitchens /Kitchen Units for better monitoring of food preparation right at the source. Regular and surprise inspections are conducted by Railway/ IRCTC officials including Food Safety Officers. Deployment of on board IRCTC supervisors on trains.

8.Further, as a measure to improve catering services on trains, IRCTC has been given flexibility to customise the menu within the same tariff so as to introduce the items of regional cuisines/preferences, seasonal delicacies, requirement during festivals, food items as per the preferences of different group of passengers such as diabetic food, baby food, health food options including millet based local products, etc.

9.QR codes have been introduced on food packets enabling display of details like name of kitchen, date of packaging etc.

10. Third Party Audit is done to examine hygiene and cleanliness in Pantry Cars and Kitchen Units. Customer satisfaction survey is also conducted.

11. To ensure compliance of Food Safety Norms, Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI), certification from Designated Food Safety Officers of each catering unit has been made mandatory.

12. A dedicated ‘Rail Madad Portal’ has been established to deal with the passenger complaints/suggestions on priority basis on cleanliness and food quality. All complaints received through Twitter handle @IR CATERING, CPGRAMS, E-Mails,SMS,etc. are promptly monitored, addressed and resolved on real time basis. 

13.Regular checks/surprise checks on cleanliness including toilets and washrooms and also quality of food are conducted at officers/supervisors levels and punitive/corrective action taken wherever any deficiency is noticed.

This information was given by the Minister of Railways, Communications and Electronic & Information Technology, Shri Ashwini Vaishnaw in a written reply to a question in Lok Sabha today.

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