Hailakandi, July 29: The Northeast Frontier Railway (NFR) has launched a unique initiative to promote water conservation and also to minimize the use of water by installing “automatic coach washing plants” at many locations.

The standard norm for domestic water usage in India is 135 litres per capita per day (lpcd), prescribed by the Central Public Health and Environmental Engineering Organisation. In Bengaluru, 50 per cent  of domestic consumers use less than 90 lpcd (around 65 per cent of the standard norm).

Shortage of underground water is becoming a serious issue in India. Due to random lifting of water for domestic and industrial consumptions, water tables in most part of the country are going downward causing serious problem for society.

Need to recycle water

To overcome this problem there is a need to reduce the use of water apart from recycling used water. Indian Railways has taken various initiatives in this regard, which includes rain water harvesting, water -recycling plants, and mechanised coach cleaning and so on. All these initiatives will lead to enormous savings in consumption of water which is required for operations of trains.

As part of the initiative, automatic coach washing plants are being installed in various pit lines and depots in NFR areas, informed chief public relations officer, Subhanan Chanda.

Installations are in progress in various locations like Katihar, New Jalpaiguri, Siligur i(DEMU), Alipurduar, Naharlagun, Dibrugarh, Silchar and Agartala. Once completed, reduction of water consumption will be from 10,000 litres to 6,000 litres per train rake. Moreover 75 per cent to 80 per cent of water used can also be recycled.

About the plant

The plant is a multistage external cleaning system for coaches/trains, by using high pressure water jets, horizontal and vertical rotating nylon combination brushes. It completes exterior cleaning of the coaches in a rake while being placed in the pit line for maintenance.

The main advantages of this system are:

It is eco-friendly because it consume less water, less electricity and less chemical (soap) for cleaning.

The requirement of water and other consumables are less in comparison to the conventional washing system.

Minimal electrical energy, manpower and maintenance are required for operating the system.

The external cleaning activity of a train which requires lots of manpower can be done away with this system.

Excellent quality external cleaning of a full train rake consisting 24 coaches can be completed within  10-15 minutes while the train is placed for maintenance checking at pit line.

The plant is also capable to clean and disinfect the area of a coach below the toilet which is otherwise not cleaned manually.

Water used for cleaning can be re-used by re-cycling through “effluent treatment plant”. This helps in conservation of water.

The entire system is user-friendly, sturdy, easy to maintain and economical.

Additional features like under-gear and roof cleaning are also available in this modern washing system.