In a major relief to passengers travelling by Indian railways, the government has decided to do away with the old urinals and replace them with bio toilets by 2020-21.
“While 17,338 existing toilets in trains have been replaced with bio-toilets till date, our aim is to equip the entire coaching fleet with bio-toilets,” a senior Railway Ministry official involved with the project said.
Under the government’s Swachh Rail – Swachh Bharat’ programme, the Railways has set the target to fit 17,000 bio-toilets in long-distance trains. It is also planning to fit the bio-toilets in new coaches by 2015-16 and the retrofitting of existing coaches will continue.
The new-age green toilets have been designed by Railways along with Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) keeping in mind the requirements of Indian trains.
Indian Railways is one of the most important and controversial transport in India. Wikimedia Commons
In a first-of-its-scale heritage mapping and digitisation project, Google and Ministry of Railways on Friday launched a project that aims to preserve the cultural heritage of the Indian Railways.
The two-year digitisation project “The Railways-Lifeline of a Nation” is a comprehensive digital document viewable on Google’s Arts and Culture website. It was launched at the National Rail Museum here.
The project is divided into “Journeys”, “People”, “Heritage” and “Engineering” sections, each containing visual and textual narratives that rail enthusiasts can access for free.
India has many railways stations famous for various reasons. Wikimedia Commons
It comprises photographs, documentaries, text, virtual tours, 360-degree videos, online exhibits, and maps, pertaining to the Indian Railways.
Minister of Railways, Piyush Goyal via video-conferencing said that the project is an experience for the “1.3 billion people of India about what the 1.3 million railway employees are doing for serving them”.
“From the Nilgiri mountains to the Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus Station, let the people of India relive their childhood… through the train journey to Madhira and through the Darjeeling toy train; let’s show them the Kangra Valley, the Kalka-Shimla experience so that it could be enjoyed by someone in Coimbatore or Ooty,” he said.
Vijayawada Railway Station was constructed in 1888. Wikimedia Commons
Along with several railway lines, the project also documents stories of 32 railway employees including engineers, ticket checkers, trackmen, and shunters.
Also capturing stories from the Indian Railways are other sections like the street art, literature, Bollywood, music, and sports, which demonstrate the inseparability of trains and culture.
The online project will also materialise as digital exhibits at 22 stations in India including New Delhi, Bengaluru, Coimbatore, Guwahati, Howrah, Secunderabad and Varanasi, Google said.
Minister of Railways, Piyush Goyal via video-conferencing said that the project is an experience for the “1.3 billion people of India .
The event also saw the inauguration of a permanent exhibition of these online resources in the National Rail Museum premises.
Notably, the Indian Railways started its journey in 1853 between Boribunder and Thane, and has expanded to be the fourth largest railway network in the world. (IANS)
