Automatic Coach Washing Plant declared open by Southwest Railway in Karnataka

An automatic coach washing plant facility has been declared open on Wednesday by General Manager (GM), South Western Railway A K Singh at Krantivira Sangolli Rayanna railway station.

Bangalore: An automatic coach washing plant facility that can clean the exterior of a train has been declared open on Wednesday by General Manager (GM), South Western Railway A K Singh at Krantivira Sangolli Rayanna railway station.

According to the General Manager, the plant has been basically put up to save water as 80 per cent of the used water will be recycled and the soap too will be reused. This method of cleaning coaches is relatively cheaper and takes less time if compared to the existing manual method of cleaning, he added.

The plant has been installed keeping in view the idea of water conservation. "The coaches undergo stages of cleaning process, initially the water is sprayed, it is then followed by a soap wash, third stage involves washing the coaches with normal water, finally RO water wash is given so that the sediments don't leave its mark" General Manager(GM), South Western Railway A K Singh explained.

GM further added that only the trains which are maintained in the Bangalore area will be washed, run through tarins will not be provided with this service. This is the first automatic coach washing plant set up in South Western Railway.

The total equipment and set up cost of washing plant has been estimated at 1.7 crores. According to the reports 24 bogies will be cleaned in 8 minutes and 300 litres of water will be saved. Moreover, the project will be extended to Yashwantpura and Baippanahalli railway stations in the near future.

The plant, manufactured by Oriental Manufacturers at Vadodara, has been procured by Railways at a cost of over Rs 1.67 lakh.