Chennai: The On Board Housekeeping Service (OBHS) introduced on several long-distance express trains has now been rolled out on 24 trains in Tamil Nadu but has failed to take off in Kerala.
“A janitor for three compartments and one supervisor per train are present on these trains and based on passenger complaints, the trains are periodically cleaned while the train is on its way to the destination,” a senior official from Southern Railway said. The staff will ensure that in the mornings and the evenings, the toilets are cleaned and cleanliness of the coaches is maintained through the journey.
Currently, we have 24 such trains that have the OBHS staff aboard in the Southern Railway. Our target is to introduce them on 60 trains in the southern zone by the end of this year in day trains and long-distance trains,” he continued.
While Chennai, Madurai and Tiruchy divisions have OBHS on 10, 6 and 6 trains, in Kerala, in Thiruvananthapuram division, contractors failed to provide proper results due to which it was rolled back from the proposed trains, according to officials.
“The work was not up to the mark and passengers were still complaining. So, in Kerala, OBHS has not really been a success. Two trains passing Palakkad have OBHS staff as of now in the Kerala division,” the senior official said. In Salem division, currently, it is being proposed to introduce OBHS on four trains. Along with Clean My Coach website and app, passengers can request cleaning of coaches through ‘Clean Our Coach’ which does not levy an excess
fee for the SMS request.
