Clean India Journal along with the Indian Railways successfully organised the second in a series of Clean Rail Conferences planned at the Zonal level at Mumbai in March 2023 with participants majorly from the Western Railway and Central Railway. The well-attended meet comprised of IR concerned officials, including CRSE, CME, Directors, Planning Department, Tender Department, and many more.
Applauding the initiative, Keynote Speaker Naresh Lalwani, GM, Central Railway said: “I like the idea of Clean India Journal bringing together so many people with diverse expertise in chemicals, machines, automation and even BOOT laundries. Going forward, we will have to find ways to maintain trains with the least number of people and get the most output.”
The Guests of Honour of the Zonal Meet were Sunil Kumar, PCME, Central Railway and Surbhit Mathur, PCME, Western Railway
He noted that the industry experts who presented their solutions already help maintain sophisticated facilities like airports and hospitals; by learning from them, the Railways can also revise its standards.
“Redefining Service Standards in New Era”, the theme of the Mumbai meet, focussed on understanding and redefining the service standards which needs to evolve with the changing needs of maintenance at different levels.
Post a spirited panel discussion about processes and products that are meant specifically for railway facility management, Sunil Kumar, PCME, Central Railway shared: “The design of rolling stock is changing; Vande Bharat trains require a higher level of service. Manual cleaning has certain drawbacks, and the requisite level of cleanliness may not be achieved. Cleaning machines offer more, and faster results for railway stations as well. Certain areas of a coach are difficult to access. We need solutions that can reach every corner.”
He clarified that budget is not a constraint; once service levels are defined, the Railways is open to all solutions that can help achieve them.
The other sessions included Indoor Air-quality in trains, Waste Management – Food waste handling and recycling, Wastewater Conservation and Recycling, Rebuilding Water Resources and Linen Care models.
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Sharing insights on these topics the speakers Sudeep Prasad, Senior Divisional Mechanical Engineer (Coaching), Mumbai Division, Central Railway, M Kalimuthu, Sr. Coaching Depot Officer, Bandra Terminus, Mumbai Central Division, Manish Bapat, Chief Electrical Engineer (Rolling Stock), CSMT, Central Railway, Rohit Rajput, Coaching Depot Officer, Lokmanya Tilak Terminus, Mumbai Division, Central Railway, Western Railway, Dr. Rajesh Biniwale, Chief Scientist & Head, CSIR-NEERI, Vinay R Deshmukh, CEO, and Director, FFS (FORBES FACILITY SERVICES), Rushabh Vora, Co-Founder, And Director, SILA, Yashodhar Vallala, CEO, Supreme Laundry Services JV Pvt Ltd & Sachin Khilare, Managing Director, Sunshine Technologies Limited addressed the present requirements of the Indian Railways.
Sessions on management of food waste and wastewater were followed by many pointed questions. Commending the level of industry-Railways interaction such an event facilitated, Subodh Sagar, CWE, Central Railways also said: “We have large facilities as well as many railway colonies, which generate a lot of waste. We have tried to experiment with biogas plants; after today’s interactions, we will be able to make them run successfully.”
The sessions on water-efficient coach maintenance, innovative solutions for maintaining indoor air quality inside coaches, comprehensive sessions on eco-friendly cleaning solutions and the latest technology to process railway linen, were well-taken by the railway officials.
Saurabh Prasad, CRSE, Central Railway had the last word: “Indian Railways has a lot to gain from the solutions showcased during the meet. How we assimilate them into our services is going to be critical. How do we dovetail them into our policies? How do we change our policies to incorporate new technologies and new maintenance practices? We are sure that we’ll come up with ideas and by the time we have the next Clean Rail Conference, we will have better policies in place to provide better services by the Indian Railways.”
In the forthcoming issues of Clean India Journal, the points discussed in each of these sessions will be covered in depth. We thank Anshul Gupta, CEO & Founder, Quick Clean Laundry Systems, Ravichandran, Technical Manager-India, Jensen Asia Pte Ltd, KeithTan Chee Meng, Regional Sales Executive, Jensen-Group Singapore, Majdi S, Chief Executive Officer, Wanova Clean LLP, Tony Chazhoor, Managing Director, IP Cleaning India Pvt. Ltd, Sabyasachi Dasgupta, District Manager, North & East Region India, Ecolab Food Safety & Hygiene Solutions Pvt. Ltd, Saji Thomas, Director, Lahs Green India Private Limited, Kshitiz Chaudhary, Managing Director, Cizar Hygiene Care Pvt Ltd, and the Indian Railway officials for their valuable contribution.