The Indian railways had announced to introduction of bio toilets in all its passenger coaches.
A revolution in Indian railways
Indian railways achieved a 100% target of bio-toilet installation in trains. There were 2,45,400 bio-toilets installed in Indian railway coaches. By the end of the year 2013, 2774 trains were fitted with bio-toilets.
The bio-toilets help to eliminate the dirt that falls on tracks. The idea to introduce it was to disinfect the human urine and feces. The initiative also started in the times of the coronavirus where maintaining proper hygiene was of utmost importance.
Let us understand what a bio-toilet exactly is.
Understanding bio-toilets
Bio toilets were invented by DRDO and the Indian railways. The anaerobic bacteria are kept in the bio-digester container. This converts human feces into gas and water. Thus, only methane gas and water stay back after decomposing the sewage. The water can be recycled and then used in the toilet. The gases get released into the air. The contaminated water is released on the track after it goes through the process of chlorination.
There are many benefits of bio-toilets. Human feces were dumped on the railway tracks directly. This is used to spread dirt in the environment. It also damaged the rail tracks and is metals. Bio toilets do not let it happen.
Also. earlier at least 15 litres of water used to be spent on the toilet flushing. The vacuum bio-toilets use only half a liter of water. The Indian stations will become cleaner and also be less smelly. This in turn will help to stop the spread of diseases. There will be less mosquitoes and cockroaches. Manual laborers will also not have to do the dirty work.
Bio toilets have indeed changed the Indian railway’s face. This has given a lot of scope to improve track maintenance. The railways also have a lab that maintains these bio-toilets. There is also a team in every railway division. They maintain the bio toilets. The waste is tested in the lab to check the bio-toilet is working fine. Installing bio-toilets is not cheap. It takes around four lakh rupees for installation. This is also part of Indian railway competition with the airlines.
Indian Railways sending on Bio toilets
There is a lot that the government is spending on bio-toilets. This also helps to reuse water usage.
Govt. Bio toilets in Indian railways. This was a part of the Swachh Bharat Mission. This was done along with the Defence Research and Development Organisation or DRDO. The bio-toilets were installed in 79,269 passenger coaches in the years 2021-22. A total of 2, 74,000 liters of human excreta falls every day.
The bio-toilets use an anaerobic bacterial system. This is how the system works. The bio-toilet takes the human waste. This is the input. It then converts it to gas and water. This was monitored well. The railway thus ensures that no amount of human waste falls on the tracks. Earlier 3,980 tons of human waste used to fall on the tracks.
There were several benefits of introducing bio-toilets. It helped to save rail and fitting corrosion. This technology has brought in a change in the track cleanliness. The first train to install the bio-toilet was the Gwalior-Varanasi Bundelkhand. This was done in the year 2011.
The installation of bio-toilets has been a great success for the railways. However, there were many challenges in this process. The proper functioning of the toilets and its maintenance is a key concern. There are many processes involved and the railways need to address this well. If this is done then railways will be able to create a railway system that is not just efficient but is also environmentally friendly. And it is not only about a clean track. It is a great step by the Indian railways to create a sustainable environment and clean travel for the rail passengers of India.
Post this several passenger trains adopted this.
Conclusion
The Indian railway and the bio-toilet era are indeed sustainable solutions for the railways. We at Bankabio have partnered with India Railways to work towards the initiative. Our toilets use microbial culture power and treat human waste. This converts human waste into environmentally friendly byproducts. This does mark the start of a sustainable technology solution.
Our initiative with the railways helps to improve hygiene. It has a positive environmental impact. It reduces water wastage too. There is also a significant improvement in hygiene because of this initiative by the Indian railways. In turn, this helps to enhance the passenger’s travel experience. Track safety and no risk of corrosion ensure that the rail infrastructure is also well maintained.