Muck Special Train: Indian Railways takes a major step towards ‘Swachh Bharat’! The Western Railway zone, in a unique initiative, has recently launched a new self-propelled muck special train on its Mumbai suburban section. The muck special train has been introduced by the railways to transport garbage collected from the railway tracks, according to an official quoted in a PTI report. For this purpose, the Western Railway has modified a 25-year old EMU rake, consisting of four coaches. According to Western Railway spokesperson Ravinder Bhakar who was quoted in the report, living with ‘Swachh Rail Swachh Bharat’ motto, the 25 year old four-coach EMU rake has been transformed into a muck special train at Mahalaxmi workshop. The EMU rake consists of two driving trailer coaches and two motor coaches.
According to the Western Railway spokesperson, the EMU rake has been modified in-house by removing partitions, seats, etc. Additionally, the rake has also been aesthetically painted with cleanliness slogans as well as images in a bid to convey the message of ‘Swachh Rail Swachh Bharat Abhiyan’, Bhakar said.
According to the report, the garbage dumped along the railway tracks not only defaces the railways but it also clogs the drainage lines. Ultimately this leads to water logging on railway tracks during monsoon season.
Bhakar said that with the help of EMU rake, the cleaning teams will be able to save their time as there will be no need to reverse the locomotive on either end. The newly launched muck special train could be easily operated in any direction through motor coaches that are present on both ends to change the direction, the spokesperson added.
Meanwhile, Piyush Goyal-led Railway Ministry is also taking various other measures to keep the railway tracks clean including installation of environment-friendly bio-toilets in train coaches under ‘Swachh Bharat Mission’. According to the Railway Ministry, the work to install bio-toilets in all train coaches is targeted to be over by this year.