In order to keep trains clean over 200 of them have been put up against one another to get the top rating as the cleanest in a first of its kind cleanliness survey undertaken by Indian Railways. A similar survey was conducted on stations across the country as part of the Swachch Bharat Abhiyan in 2016.

A total of 475 rakes of these 210 trains are to be audited out of which 386 rakes have already been surveyed.

The survey is being conducted by a third party auditor engaged by IRCTC, an official said.

“Such independent survey on the cleanliness of important trains will be carried out every year and is expected to bring a sense of pride and competition among the zonal railways and maintenance depots. The survey of trains is expected to be completed in a couple of months,” an official said.

The assessment will include  checking on board facilities- conditions of toilets, equipment,  tools, manpower, vestibules, doorways, dustbin, linen, pest management, watering, waste management, on board housekeeping staff and on arrival at stations. Each category has points assigned to it with the highest priority given to the condition of toilets.

The checking starts right before the trains start their route till the arrival at the destination. The passengers’ feedback as well as the audit will contribute to the results.