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Commercialpedia Indian Railways commercial circulars and policies

Housekeeping Department at Indian Railways

· 2020-06-25
Study materialreservation

No official Railway Board PDF has been traced for this entry yet. The text below was read from the document held in the library.

Date2020-06-25
TypeCommercial Circular
Topicreservation

Summary

‘Clean My Coach’ scheme introduced - for any cleaning requirement in the coach in trains having OBHS service,

Text of the circular

Housekeeping
Dr. Prasad Modak

Content
►Housekeeping Department at Indian Railways
►Existing Initiatives of Indian Railways
►Selected Best Practices in Housekeeping
25 June 2020
2

25 June 2020
3
Railway Board Directorate for Environment & House Keeping Management
Member Rolling Stock
Additional Member 
(Environment and House Keeping)
Executive Director (EnHM) ME
Executive Director (EnHM) CE
Director
Joint Director
►
In April 2018, the Ministry of 
Railways 
and 
Railway 
Board 
introduced 
Environment 
& 
Housekeeping 
Management 
(EnHM) Department in the Boards 
to deal with the issues related to 
Environment 
as 
well 
as 
Housekeeping 
Management 
on 
Indian Railways.

Scope of Work
In August 2018, the Ministry decided to establish EnHM wings in Zonal Railways with the following 
scope of work under housekeeping:
Execution as well as monitoring and coordination of Integrated Housekeeping function of coaching 
trains, major railway stations and coach maintenance depots. Functions include:
►Mechanized cleaning of all A1 and A category stations restricted to all passenger interface 
areas excluding retiring rooms and officers’ rest houses
►Mechanized cleaning of coaches (excluding EMUs & MEMUs) in Deports/Stations including 
Clean Train Stations
►Mechanized cleaning of coach maintenance depots excluding EMU & MEMU car sheds
►Pest & rodent control in A1 and A category stations, depots and coaching trains
►On board housekeeping services (OBHS) in coaching trains
►Linen management in Trains & A1 and A category stations
►Petty repairs to amenity fittings in toilets at stations
25 June 2020
4

Existing Initiatives of Indian Railways
25 June 2020
5

Swachh Railway Stations
►Imperative for all Railway Stations to be well maintained & clean, and to move 
towards the larger goal of a healthy, unpolluted environment.
25 June 2020
6
Swachh Bharat Mission 
launched on 2nd October 2014 
to make the country clean and 
sanitized by 2nd October 2019
As part of the SBM Mandate – 
all Railways Stations to be 
well maintained and clean
Image Source: Page 11 of Swachh Rail, Swachh Bharat Cleanliness Assessment Report (for non-suburban and suburban stations) 2019

Responsibilities of the Railway Management & Staff /Contracted 
Agency
25 June 2020
7
Clean environment for 
the passengers, 
vendors and railway 
staff 
Regular surprise 
inspection 
Attain and maintain 
high standards of 
cleanliness and 
general upkeep 
Train, control and 
supervise staff 
Control the issue of 
cleaning materials and 
equipment
Maintain official 
records 
Cleaning standards, 
frequency and 
accountability are 
clearly defined 
Cleaning schedules 
Statutory 
requirements are met

Cleanliness of Coaches and Station
25 June 2020
8
Mechanised cleaning of coaches in more than 145 coaching depots
Clean My Coach scheme
Rag picking contracts and garbage disposal contracts at more than 730 stations
Clean Train Station scheme at 40 stations
However, these cleaning facilities and schemes have been implemented at few select stations, and in broad gauge 
coaches with on-board housekeeping facility

Cleanliness in Train Coaches
25 June 2020
9
Cleaning of coaches during the run of the trains is carried out through the onboard housekeeping facilities in 30% 
of the mail/express trains
A standard bid document for housekeeping contracts has been developed
Need to conduct frequent inspections and surprise 
checks on all trains to ensure that the contractors 
are adhering to the specifications mentioned in the 
contracts

Cleanliness in Train Coaches
25 June 2020
10
On Board Housekeeping Service (OBHS) for cleaning of toilets, doorways, aisles and passenger compartments in 
more than 1000 pairs of trains
‘Clean My Coach’ scheme introduced - for any cleaning requirement in the coach in trains having OBHS service, 
passenger can send an SMS on a specified mobile number or use the App or webpage for logging request
‘Clean My Coach’ upgraded to ‘Coach Mitra’ facility, which has been introdu

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