All railway stations, nearly 8,500 across the country, including those in rural and remote areas – will be equipped with Wi-Fi facilities at an estimated cost of Rs 7 billion.

As part of the government’s ambitious Digital India initiative, the national transporter has currently commissioned Wi-Fi services at 216 major stations enabling about seven million rail passengers to log on to the free Internet facility.

“Internet access has now become an important requirement in day-to-day working and we shall be providing this facility at all railway stations in the country,” a senior Railway Ministry official said.

According to the the plan finalised at a recent meeting, while 1,200 stations have been identified for this facility to primarily cater to rail passengers, about 7,300 stations have been earmarked to not only serve passengers but also local people in rural and remote areas.

The Wi-FI facility at these stations in rural and remote areas will be offered to the local population as part of the digital makeover of rural India to promote e-governance.

Railway stations in rural areas will have kiosks with Wi-Fi that will become digital hot spots offering services like digital banking, Aadhaar generation, issuing government certificates, including birth and death certificates, and filing taxes and paying bills, among others.

The kiosks will also enable the local populace to order and receive goods from e-commerce portals.

“These kiosks will be operated at stations with private participation for the local population,” said the official, adding, “The modalities of setting up such digital hot spots are being worked out with the Telecom Ministry.”

As per the timeline, while 600 stations are targeted to be provided with the Wi-FI facility by March 2018, the Railways aim to cover all 8,500 stations by March 2019.

Our aim is to ensure that more and more people get connected to the rail Wi-FI system as the Wi-Fi broadband access to these rail users will aid in implementing the government’s Digital India initiative, he said.

The environmental impact assessment (EIA) report on the high-speed rail connecting Kuala Lumpur and Singapore is ready for public viewing and feedback, marking another step forward for the multi-billion dollar project.

The EIA study, for the Malaysian side of the project, covers assessments such as noise and vibration, water quality, geology, traffic, risk hazard assessment, public health and safety.

The report itself is broadly positive about the project, noting short-term environmental impact.

The line will pass from its terminus station in Kuala Lumpur through the Kuala Lumpur and Putrajaya federal territories and four Malaysian states, before entering Singapore. The high-speed rail or HSR will have only one station in the Republic, in Jurong East.

The EIA report was prepared by private company Minconsult, and it has been submitted to Malaysia’s Department of Environment (DOE) for review, according to the government’s development company MyHSR Corp.

The project would take a big step forward once the study is okayed by the Malaysian government.

The governments of Malaysia and Singapore signed an agreement late last year to embark on the project. According to the bilateral agreement, the HSR link is expected to become operational by Dec 31, 2026, and will cut travel time between Kuala Lumpur and Singapore to just 1½ hours, down from about four hours by car.

“We have outlined the necessary measures to address and minimise the potential impacts throughout all phases of the project, which covers pre-construction, during construction and operations,” MyHSR Corp chief executive officer Mohd Nur Ismal Mohamed Kamal said in a statement on Tuesday.

He said public feedback would be incorporated into an updated EIA report to the DOE.

The public can view the report until Jan 25, 2018, at the Land Public Transport Commission headquarters in Kuala Lumpur and DOE offices in Putrajaya, Kuala Lumpur, Selangor, Negeri Sembilan, Melaka and Johor. It is also available at town council offices along the KL-to-Singapore rail alignment.

GURUGRAM: Located about 80 km from Delhi, Nuh is mostly inhabited by Meo Muslims (the Muslims considered to be descendants of Arjuna in Mahabharat). Nuh is the most backward region in Haryana marred by poor literacy rate, unemployment and low per capita income. Besides lack of opportunities for higher education in the region, poor connectivity with Delhi is another factor blamed for the present state of affairs of under-development.

Rail connectivity with Delhi has been one of the most long-pending demands of the people of the region. Despite an announcement in the 2013 Railway Budget by then United Progressive Alliance government, the project is yet to see the light of the day.

Former Haryana Transport Minister Aftab Ahmed said an ambitious project to connect Delhi to Alwar via Nuh through a railway line was announced by then Union Railway Minister Pawan Bansal. However, the project was put on the back burner with a change in regime a year later.

“The cost of the project was estimated to be ₹1,000 crore and a letter was given to the Union Ministry on behalf of then Haryana Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda offering to bear 50% of the total cost,” he said.

Spearheading a campaign on the issue, Hamara Adhikar Morcha (HAM) convener Mohammad Younus Alvi said: “In reply to a RTI application in July 2013, the Department concerned furnished a map of the project and the estimated cost. As per the reply, the 104-km railway line was slated to pass through 38 villages of Nuh with stations at Sohna, Nuh and Ferozepur Jhirka.”

“When farmers in Rewari, Hodal and Palwal growing vegetables can earn huge profits by selling produce in Gurugram and Faridabad due to better connectivity, farmers in Nuh, if connected by rail, will be able to fetch three times the price for their produce in Delhi compared to what they get now. Railway stations will also create job opportunities for the locals,” said Mr. Alvi.

Alleging that there seemed to be a larger political conspiracy to deny better education opportunities and connectivity to Nuh and keep the people of the region illiterate and poor, the former district councillor said the proposed rail connectivity can turn around the fortunes of the region.

Advocate Akhtar Hussain, a local, said a vast majority of the population in Nuh was involved in agriculture and animal rearing, but was exploited by middlemen. “While milk in bigger cities sells for ₹40-₹50 per litre, it is sold for ₹18-₹20 in Nuh. Better connectivity will help the locals break free from the clutches of middlemen and fetch higher prices for milk and milk products,” he said.

Though several social organisations have been demanding rail connectivity for the region over the past few years, demonstrations became rare after the 2013 announcement. However, HAM, with support from various organisations, has renewed the demand for rail connectivity for Nuh.

Demonstrations are being held at village and block levels to garner support for a bigger demonstration at the district level later this year.

Even the brand of Islam followed by Indian Muslims varies from region to region. Few seem to be aware that there are numerous Muslim communities who profess Islam but remain steeped in the local Hindu ethos. For instance, just outside the city boundaries begins the large pocket where the Meo Muslims live. These Muslims profess Islam but follow a fascinating composite culture that accommodates many Hindu customs. They trace their origins to Hindu figures such as Rama, Krishna and Arjuna and celebrate many Hindu festivals like Diwali, Dussehra and Holi.

And the Meos are no obscure tiny sect; they are a 400,000- strong community found in the region known as Mewat, which is spread across the border areas of the three states of Uttar Pradesh, Haryana and Rajasthan. In Uttar Pradesh, they are found in the Chhata tehsil while in Haryana, the Meos occupy the Nuh and Ferozepur tehsils of Gurgaon district. But the area where the Meos dominate and have been able to preserve their unique culture is the Alwar district of Rajasthan, just a two-hour drive from Delhi.

The Meos are famous across the Mewat belt for their narration of folk epics and ballads. Their oral tradition is a rich source for studying and understanding the community’s history. Among the epics and ballads sung by the Meos, which are derived from Hindu lore, the most popular is the Pandun ka kada, the Mewati version of the Mahabharata.

The Meos have a distinct identity, separating them from both mainstream Hindu and Muslim society. Their marriages combine the Islamic nikaah ceremony with a number of Hindu rituals – like maintaining exhaustive gotras, a distinctly Hindu practice. One fascinating tradition still preserved by Meos is the tracing of their genealogy by Hindu genealogists known as jaggas. The jaggas are an essential part of any lifecycle ceremony in the Meo community.

The Meos are believed to have gradually converted to Islam between the twelfth and the sixteenth centuries. Their Hindu origins are evident from their names, as most Meos still keep the title “Singh”, revealing the syncretic nature of the community. Ram Singh, Til Singh and Fateh Singh are typical Meo names. Fateh Singh, a Meo balladeer in the village on the outskirts. After reciting the Pandun ka kada, he spoke at length on what he believed to be the community’s origins. Fateh Singh and his fellow villagers firmly believe that they are Kshatriyas descending from Arjuna of Mahabharat times, however gradually converted to Islam under the influence of Sufi Pirs during Moghul regime. But they told me that the Meos are gradually giving up the celebration of Hindu festivals. “If you go into villages in the interior, you will see that the Meos are just like Hindus. You will not be able to make out the difference between Meos and Hindu villagers. But near the city, more and more people are giving up Hindu customs and rituals.” Earlier, all Meos traced their origins to Arjuna through the Pandun ka kada since ages unknown. However as a result of this deliberate Islamisation, epics such as the Shamsher Pathan and Behram Badshah – which suggest that the Meos came from Arabia – are also gaining in popularity. But what is remarkable is that they have still retained much of their old ways of life. One does not have to search too hard to find a Meo singing the Pandun ka kada or celebrating Dussehra. They still remain a fascinating testament to a shared history, a shared culture in the subcontinent.

Japan is making an all-out bid for the Kuala Lumpur-Singapore High Speed Rail (HSR) contract to construct Southeast Asia’s largest ever infrastructure project.

The Japanese bid to build the HSR – touted as South-east Asia’s largest infrastructure project – would be a comprehensive package based on Japan’s technological expertise in its renowned Shinkansen bullet train system, Japan’s Ambassador to Malaysia said in an interview with national news agency Bernama.

The Japanese package would be a truly holistic one with the best HSR technology via the first invented and world-renowned high-speed railway system, the Shinkansen, plus total transfer of technology and local vendor development to greatly benefit Malaysian and Singaporean companies, including small and medium enterprises, said the Japanese ambassador to Malaysia, Makio Miyagawa.

“We will be offering our best-suited technologies to Malaysians and Singaporeans as well as full-fledged training for the officials, operators and engineers of both countries so that they can start the operations by themselves from Day One.

“Japan would also like to offer the most comprehensive financial package which would certainly help the two nations to reduce as much of their financial burden as possible in introducing this system,” Miyagawa told in an interview.

Bids for the HSR, described as a game-changing joint venture between Malaysia and Singapore, must be submitted by the middle of this year with the contract expected to be awarded by year-end.

Other bidders for the project may include those from China, South Korea and France.

The 350km HSR is intended to cut travel time between Kuala Lumpur and Singapore to 90 minutes and stimulate the economy of several localities along the route, and it is projected to start operations around 2026.

Malaysia’s MyHSR Corporation Sdn Bhd and Singapore’s HSR Private Ltd announced on December 20 last year that they would start accepting bids for a railway “assets company” which will be responsible for designing, building, financing, operating and maintaining all rail assets.

Second Finance Minister Datuk Seri Johari Abdul Ghani was reported to have said that the project, which will have eight stations, would cost RM50 billion-RM60 billion.

Miyagawa pointed out that Japan’s engagement posture would tie closely with the country’s long-standing philosophy of economic assistance particularly in Asia.

“The philosophy of our economic assistance has all along been in such a way that Japan has assisted the recipient nations to stand on their own feet. It would not like to dominate the benefits but to share them. It would withdraw from the operation when you are ready to take over. If you would like us to stay on for some years, we would. It is not the Japan’s way to win (a contract) and run away. That would be irresponsible,” the ambassador added.

He said Japan had already been offering technology, human capital and financial resources to enable its companies to collaborate with companies in Malaysia and Singapore so that the all the companies and private sector could go hand in hand to advance together.

“In the high-speed rail system, our government and private sector would be ready and are very keen to collaborate with the local industries in Malaysia and Singapore so that the gradual transfer of technology and human capital will succeed and will help newly-introducing technology nations like Malaysia and Singapore to operate the system right from the start,” he added.

And he said that this long-lasting project would certainly invigorate and reinvigorate as well as reenergise the economies of Malaysia and Singapore linking up the two cities as well as mega cities now prospering in Asia.

“The connectivity will increase and along the alignment many cities will flourish. And that is why we are very happy to participate in this project.”

Japan’s edge over other bidders, Miyagawa said, should be viewed from the most important aspect in any public transport system – safety.

Here, Japan has an impeccable record recognised worldwide.

“Japan invented the bullet train technology. The advantage of the Shinkansen is that it has been operated for almost 50 years without any fatal accident or human capital problems. This is the merit of the system which is based upon the superiority of the hardware as well as the excellence of the software operations based upon the accumulated know-how of the engineers and operators in Japan,” he said.

Mr Makio Miyagawa said the bid will include a total transfer of technology and local vendor development to benefit Malaysian and Singaporean firms, including small and medium-sized enterprises.

“We will be offering our best-suited technologies to Malaysians and Singaporeans, as well as full-fledged training for the officials, operators and engineers of both countries, so that they can start the operations themselves from day one,” he said.

“Japan would also like to offer the most comprehensive financial package, which would certainly help the two nations reduce as much of their financial burden as possible, in introducing this system.”

Bids for the HSR, which has been described as a game-changing joint venture between Malaysia and Singapore, must be submitted by the middle of this year, with the contract expected to be awarded by the year end. Other potential bidders for the project include China, South Korea and France.

The 350km HSR will cut travel time between Kuala Lumpur and Singapore to 90 minutes, and is expected to be completed by 2026.

Malaysia’s MyHSR Corporation and Singapore’s SG HSR on Dec 20 last year said they would start accepting bids for a railway assets firm that will be responsible for designing, building, financing, operating and maintaining all rail assets. Malaysian Second Finance Minister Johari Abdul Ghani was reported to have said that the project, which will have eight stations, is expected to cost about RM50 billion (S$17 billion) to RM60 billion.

Mr Miyagawa said Japan’s involvement in the project was consistent with the country’s longstanding philosophy of economic assistance, particularly to other countries in Asia.

He said: “The philosophy of our economic assistance has all along been in such a way that Japan has assisted the recipient nations to stand on their own feet. It would not like to dominate the benefits but to share them.

“It would withdraw from the operation when you are ready to take over. If you would like us to stay on for some years, we would. It is not Japan’s way to win a contract and run away. That would be irresponsible.

“In the high-speed rail system, our government and private sector would be ready and are very keen to collaborate with the local industries in Malaysia and Singapore so that the gradual transfer of technology and human capital will succeed, and help nations like Malaysia and Singapore, who are introducing new technologies, to operate the system right from the start.”

Japan’s edge over other bidders, he added, should be viewed from the most important aspect in any public transport system – safety.

Said Mr Miyagawa: “Japan invented the bullet train technology. The advantage of the Shinkansen is that it has operated for almost 50 years without any fatal accident or human capital problems.

“This is the merit of the system which is based upon the superiority of the hardware as well as the excellence of the software operations, based upon the accumulated know-how of the engineers and operators in Japan.”

Four out of ten trains in the country are being delayed not because of fog, vagaries of nature or accidents, but because of railways’ large scale repair work, according to official data.

Passengers, it seems, are paying the price of heavy track maintenance work which has seen a 43 percent increase in the period between April and December, 2017 as compared to the same period in 2016.

While during that period in 2017, 1,09,704 trains were delayed, in 2016, the number was less by 16,092 trains.

While five percent of these trains were delayed due to accidents, including those in which cattle were run over, 20 percent was due to asset failure and 40 percent due to repair work. The rest has been attributed to inclement weather conditions.

Officials say that given that safety is the top priority for railways in the coming year, passengers have to bear the brunt on account of repair and maintenance work.

A senior official of the railways told RailNews that on an average, between April-November 2017, railways have increased the block hours for maintenance by 18 percent as compared to the previous year, resulting in delays across the network.

Indian Railways is slated to spend Rs 1,000 crore a month over six months starting October 2017 to replace old and out- of-date tracks with new ones.

Rail minister Piyush Goyal has set a target of track renewal for the current fiscal at 3,600 kilometres, an 80 percent jump over the average 2,000 km of tracks renewed by railways every fiscal.

In fact railways have completed a record 476-kilometres track renewal in the month of December and expects to touch 3,500-kilometres of track renewal in 2017-18, officials said.

“Safety is our topmost priority. Repair and maintenance work is the only way we can ensure that”, said a senior official of the railways.

While punctuality of trains has suffered due to repair work – from April to December in the current fiscal, punctuality was recorded at 74.5 percent, which was around 3.73 percent lower compared with the same period in the last financial year.

Railways have increased the hours given for repair works per day all over the country from around 3,000 hours per day to around 5,000 hours per day.

As the officials of Ambala rail division showcased the new features, which have been added to the coaches of the Chandigarh–New Delhi Shatabdi Express (12046/45), during an interaction at the Chandigarh Railway Station on Saturday, division’s railway manager Dinesh Chand Sharma, however, said the services and facilities still remained the same for passengers.

“Only the interior has been modified to present a better look. We have also emphasised on the training and behaviour of the staff. The entire exercise has been done to improve the passengers’ satisfaction,” Sharma said.

This is the only train that has been upgraded till now by the Ambala Division. Only the interior has been made to look better by spending ₹2.2 lakh.

Divisional Railway Manager (DRM) of the Ambala Division, Dinesh Chand Sharma, said, “It has been done to improve the passenger’s satisfaction. Only the interior has been modified to give it a better look.”

Gold standard features that have been added include Vinyl wrapped interiors in doorway, gangways, toilets, luggage rack panels, ceiling, destination boards and coach no. plates; improved toilet fittings; improved signages/posters and anti graffiti coating.

No new/upgraded facilities

No new facilities have been provided and no upgradation in the facilities has been done by the unit. The speed and timetable of the train will remain the same. Sharma said, “No upgradation has been done in facilities but now the train will look cleaner.”

He further added that the unit will go for modification of more trains in future. He also said that the changes will be done jurisdiction wise.

Passenger wish upgradation of facilities

When asked about how the passengers feel, they said that it looked a little better; however, the railway department should also work on the facilities.

A passenger, Avtar Kaur, said, “Shatabdi used to be really good when it had started but now the jerks take the comfort away. Further, the foot rests are of no use and provide no comfort.”

She further said, “Sajawat ton ki laina, washroom dian kundian tan tuttian hundian ne (What is the purpose of decorating when the toilet latches are broken)”, suggesting that the officials should work more on the facilities.

Another passenger, Nitya, said, “Though the interior looks better but the comfort is not as much as needed. Change will reflect itself if facilities are changed.”

Adding more coaches when airport closes

Chandigarh International Airport is to close down for two weeks in February. It is being done due to upgrade work of the runway.

Sharma said, “More coaches will be added in eth trains, and we will try to accommodate as many passengers as we can. This will depend on the waiting list.” He mentioned that there would probably be no need to add a new train.

Safety and security at the station

When asked about the safety and security at the railway station and the lack of door frame metal detector (DFMD), the officials said that they will look into the matter. They said, “We will speak to the Government Railway Police (GRP) and Railway Protection Force (RPF).”

The most recent train to have got a makeover is the Chandigarh-Delhi Shatabdi that has been modified under the Swarn project and is now totally fire-proof.

There is one executive coach and nine other chair cars in the Shatadbi 12046/12045 which was revamped under the same scheme.

As part of the makeover, 10 key components have been taken under consideration which include punctuality, cleanliness, linen, coach interiors, toilets, catering, staff behavior, security, entertainment, housekeeping and lastly, feedback.

Around ₹2.5 lakh has been spent for each coach and each compartment aisle of the new train has been marked with fluorescent strips for guidance and safety of passengers, similar to that of an airline.

With renovated interiors, upgraded toilets and automatic hygiene-control systems, this Swarn Shatabdi is said to be the best in terms of hygiene and security.

To top it off, installation of CCTV cameras along with an increase in the number of Railway Protection Force (RPF) personnel, Swarn has got us a full package.

In the age of smart cities and new metro rail lines being the latest trend, the Southern Railway has been a sleeping giant over the past eight years in Tamil Nadu and has been ducking over on projects proposed way back in 2006 for which even surveys and initial funds were allocated.

The common answer from railway authorities is that new lines are not commercially viable and this also applies to the Mayiladuthurai-Thirunallar-Karaikal a potential line that supports tourism and pilgrimage and a long pending demand of delta farmers and pilgrimages thronging the historical temples located along the Cauvery river basin.

“The Pattali Makkal Katchi, which had two ministers of state for railways in the recent past had also been insisting on Chennai -Puducherry line via Mamallapuram along east coast road and the incomplete Chennai Beach-Velachery-Alandur mass rapid transit system project is also a classic example, but there is no progress,” said a railway source attached to the Southern Railway Sangh. With the state not having a representation in the Union railway ministry and the scrapping up of railway budget, there is no transparency and the political pressure on the railway ministry seeking projects for TN, the insider added.

According to Arupathy P. Kalyanam, organiser, Mayiladuthurai-Tharangambadi Train Restoration Committee, the railway authorities have failed to realise the traffic potential along these lines connecting delta districts that support tourism and pilgrimage. Rail passengers and Delta farmers urge the speedy construction of the railway lines and from Tharangambadi, Thirunallar is just an 11-kilometre new route that needs land acquisition.

In his letter to Union railway minister Kalyanam also pointed out that from Thirunallar, Karaikal  is just a 6-kilometre stretch and that is now being implemented under Peralam-Karaikal link for which the work is already in progress. Further by implementing this project, the railways will have a full Cauvery delta circular rail link connecting Thanjavur-Kumbakonam-Mayiladuthurai-Tharangambadi-Karaikkal-Nagapattinam-Thiruvarur-Thanjavur covering a stretch 213 kilometre connecting major Hindu, Muslim and Christian pilgrimage centres with high traffic potential, the letter added.

All railway stations — nearly 8,500 across the country, including those in rural and remote areas — will be equipped with Wi-Fi facilities at an estimated cost of Rs. 700 crore ($110 million).

As part of the government’s ambitious Digital India initiative, the national transporter has currently commissioned Wi-Fi services at 216 major stations enabling about seven million rail passengers to log on to the free Internet facility.

“Internet access has now become an important requirement in day-to-day working and we shall be providing this facility at all railway stations in the country,” a senior Railway Ministry official said.

As per the plan finalised at a recent meeting, while 1,200 stations have been identified for this facility to primarily cater to rail passengers, about 7,300 stations have been earmarked to not only serve passengers but also local people in rural and remote areas.

The Wi-FI facility at these stations in rural and remote areas will be offered to the local population as part of the digital makeover of rural India to promote e-governance.

Railway stations in rural areas will have kiosks with Wi-FI that will become digital hot spots offering services like digital banking, Aadhaar generation, issuing government certificates, including birth and death certificates, and filing taxes and paying bills, among others.

The kiosks will also enable the local populace to order and receive goods from e-commerce portals.

“These kiosks will be operated at stations with private participation for the local population,” said the official, adding, “The modalities of setting up such digital hot spots are being worked out with the Telecom Ministry.”

As per the timeline, while 600 stations are targeted to be provided with the Wi-FI facility by March 2018, the Railways aim to cover all 8,500 stations by March 2019.

COMMENTSOur aim is to ensure that more and more people get connected to the rail Wi-FI system as the Wi-Fi broadband access to these rail users will aid in implementing the government’s Digital India initiative, he said.

During the month of December last year, the Northern Railways achieved the highest-ever freight loading in history.

“Northern Railways has achieved a revenue loading of 5.01MT during December 2017 which is the highest. Northern Railway has also surpassed the current year target of 4.99 MT for December and loading of 4.32 MT achieved in December last year. Loading in December is 0.02 MT (0.40 per cent) which is more than the target and 0.69 MT (15.97 per cent) more than last year,” said an official note.

There has been an increase in Revenue Loading Earning by 145.4 crore (21.50 per cent) and the Jumbo Loading per day has increased from last year.
“Jumbo Loading has increased from a level of 35.03 jumbo per day in December 2016 to 40.58 jumbos per day in December 2017 registering an increase of 15.84 per cent,” it added.

There has been a surge in throughput that has increased from 12731 wagons per day in December 2016 to 15213 wagons per day in December 2017 registering an improvement of 19.50 per cent.

Wagon Holding has also shown significant improvement during December 2017 it was 22,365 wagons per day against 24,642 wagons last year an improvement of 9.24 per cent over last year. Wagon turn round has improved from 1.91 in December 2016 to 1.66 achieved in December 2017 registering an improvement of 13.09 per cent in December 2017.

The long haul running has also increased substantially. During December 2017, 228 long hauls were run as compared to 41 long hauls in December 2016 registering an increase of 456.10 per cent.

During December 2017, a total of 703 crack trains were run against 423 cracks last year showing an increase of 66.19 per cent.

The Indian Railways need to buy 3,350 truckloads of cow dung at Rs 42 crore in 2018 to “recharge”–add bacteria to activate degradation–leaky, malfunctioning ‘bio-toilets’ that it has fitted on 44.8% of trains and hopes to expand to all trains by 2018, according to IndiaSpend projections of data released by the national auditor to Parliament.

Bio-toilets are small-scale sewage-treatment systems beneath the toilet seat: Bacteria in a compost chamber digest human excreta, leaving behind water and methane. That’s how they were supposed to work.

The Comptroller and Auditor General’s (CAG) report on these bio-toilets echoes the findings of our November 2017 investigation into their widespread malfunctioning: The CAG found 199,689 defects in 25,000 toilets.

Responding to the CAG findings, the railway ministry said its criticism was “not correct” and that “some problems of choking were occurring on account of misuse of toilets by passengers”. An official note from December 20, 2017, said: “These issues are being dealt with promptly.”

“By November 2011, the performance issues of each design of bio-toilets were clearly showing up,” the note said. “Therefore, the ministry did not wait until the end of the trial period to make the decision (to order the procurement of bio-toilets from private manufacturers).”

Our November 2017 story quoted studies from the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Madras and IIT Kanpur that said the bio-toilets were no better than “septic tanks” and the water they let out no better than “raw sewage”.

Each bio-toilet requires 60 litres–or three large bucketfuls–of inoculum, a mix of cow dung and water, according to the December 19, 2017, CAG  report. This inoculum begins the process of breaking down 3,980 tons of human excreta that is released untreated by trains on rail tracks nationwide every day.

The bio-toilets originally used a bacterium found in Antarctica by a defence scientist, who cultured it in 2005 and 10 years later, got a patent on its use. Over seven years to 2017, 97,761 such toilets were fitted in new coaches or retrofitted in existing Indian trains.

The railways went ahead with the toilet installation even though the flaw in the basic model designed by the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) had been pointed out by an expert panel in 2007. In an interview (to be published tomorrow), Vinod Tare, an IIT professor of environmental engineering, who headed this panel, told us that these bio-toilets had been found ineffective at two venues: Kumbh Mela, the massive gathering of Hindu pilgrims held every 12 years at a river bank, and the army base-camp at Siachen glacier.

The panel’s two-year study was completed in November 2017 by IIT Madras.

The railways bought 3,600 litres of inoculum for Rs 68,400 in May 2016, said the CAG report. Based on this cost, we estimate that to recharge the 97,761 bio-toilets currently in use, the railways will need 23.46 million litres–or 3,350 truckloads–of cow dung.

With the railways failing to produce enough bacteria, the cow dung will be sourced from private sector at Rs 19 per litre. The railways have a workshop–with an installed capacity to generate 30,000 litres of bacteria each month–in Nagpur, but no action has been taken on a 2011 proposal to set up two more facilities, at Kapurthala and Perambur.

No clarity on funds or manpower for bio-toilet project

There is no clarity on two other critical issues relating to bio-toilets on trains: The infrastructure costs involved in installation, including procurement and installation of evacuation machines and hydraulic lifts, and anticipated expenses on training and deployment of manpower.

Further, if all 54,506 rail coaches are to be fitted with vacuum toilets atop the bio-toilets being installed–as is being planned–there will be an additional cost of Rs 10,900 crore. The current market price of a vacuum toilet unit is approximately Rs 200,000.

The additional expense might have been worth it if the bio-toilet scheme, 24 years in the making, had been efficient. But the CAG has amplified concerns about its performance and has endorsed the findings by external agencies too.

The flaws in bio-toilets, according to the CAG

In an evaluation of 25,000 toilets for the period under review (2016-17), the CAG detected 199,689 defects and deficiencies. Here are some major issues, according to the report:

• Highest number of problems/ defects (41,111) found at the Bengaluru coaching depot, followed by Gorakhpur (24,495) and Wadi Bunder (22,521);
• Complaints per bio-toilet were highest at the Bengaluru coaching deport (98), followed by Wadi Bunder (32), Rameshwaram (28) and Gwalior (17);
• Of the 102,792 instances of choking, 10,098 (10%) cases reported in March 2017;
• Of the 102,792 cases of choking in 25,080 bio-toilets, the highest (34%) were reported from Bengaluru. This implied that one bio-toilet got choked 83 times a year;
• Choking incidents have risen from 2015-16: One bio-toilet got choked four times a year during 2016-17.

Quantity and quality of material used criticised by CAG

In an email dated May 21, 2016, to then defence minister Manohar Parrikar, Y Ashok Babu, a scientist at the DRDO, had alleged that a “nexus of bureaucrats and industrialists” was pushing for what was “nothing but gobar gas plants involving no technology”.

The CAG report too slammed the railways for the “quality and quantity” of material being procured.

As the report observed, there were complaints pending against seven of the nine firms against with which the Railway Board placed orders. These are: Ms JSL Life Style Limited, Ms Omax Auto Limited, Ms Mohan Rail Components Limited, Ms Rail Fab, Ms Amit Engineers, Ms Hindustan Fiber Glass Works and Ms Rail Tech.

In July 2017, the railways ministry barred three companies (Ms Rail Tech, Ms Rail Fab and Ms Hindustan Fiber) from being considered for railway contracts for an unspecified period. The ministry also proposed that the contract of another company, Ms Mohan Rail, be cancelled.

Negligence in testing of effluents and bacteria culture

The CAG report found that 12 coaching depots of nine railway zones had not finalised the annual maintenance and operating contracts (AMOCs) for bio-toilets.

“Evaluation of performance is a continuous process resulting in addition or deletion from the approved list,” the railways ministry said in a press note in response to the CAG report. It added that “all major coaching depots now had the AMOC contract, while this was progressively being extended to other depots”.

As the CAG found, Indian Railways have not adhered to the guidelines on testing the effluents released by bio-toilets. The tests had not been conducted at all at the Dhanbad coaching depot and records of the samples sent for testing and the results of these tests were not maintained at five coaching depots.

At the Lower Parel workshop in Mumbai, 18 drums of bacteria procured at a cost of Rs 68,400 in May 2016 had been lying unused even after their shelf life had expired.

After 2011, the railways placed bulk orders for the supply, installation and commissioning of approximately 80,000 bio-toilets. The CAG criticised the railways for failing to come up with a “standardized design” for these units. It also pointed to the “large scale proliferation” of 10,000 tanks in November 2011 “before test results of trials on seven different variants had been analyzed”. Earlier reports had suggested that the land-based variants of these toilets were unsuccessful.