Indian Railways and the long wait for hygiene: Why clean travel still feels like a distant dream

When nearly 2.3 crore passengers travel on Indian Railways every single day, hygiene cannot be treated as a side issue. It is a core public service obligation. And yet, across the country from bustling metros to remote stations the story remains depressingly familiar: overflowing bins, foul-smelling toilets, littered platforms, and coaches that age faster than they are cleaned. Despite visible efforts and scattered successes, the system still struggles with the basics of public sanitation.

A network built for mass travel, Not clean travel

Indian Railways, one of the world’s largest transport systems, was designed to move people, not to manage cleanliness at this scale. The infrastructure is gigantic but old, stretched but under-maintained. The sheer numbers would overwhelm any organisation, but the real issue lies deeper systems have not evolved at the pace of rising expectations. The introduction of mechanised cleaning, OBHS (On-Board Housekeeping Services), and periodic “Swachh Rail” drives were meant to transform the experience. But the gap between policy announcements and ground reality remains wide. Many long-distance trains still start their journey in a reasonably clean state but deteriorate within hours because the cleaning teams are too small, too poorly equipped, or too inconsistently monitored.

Toilets: The weakest link

If there is one area where the failure is most visible, it is railway toilets. Bio-toilets were introduced to reduce waste discharge on tracks and improve sanitation. While successful on the environmental front, they have not delivered the expected improvement in user experience. Clogged systems, lack of water during peak hours, broken latches, rusted fixtures, and inadequate maintenance make toilets one of the biggest pain points for millions of passengers. The irony is hard to miss: even premium trains like express services and “superfast” routes face the same complaints as ordinary trains. Hygiene is still treated as a cosmetic feature, not a fundamental service guarantee.

Platforms that reflect the system

Railway platforms are the face of Indian Railways and many of them convey a story of indifference. In several stations, especially those outside the metro circuits, stinks hover around dustbins, spittoons are nonexistent, plastic cups and food waste spill across tracks, and stray animals roam freely. Announcements about fines and civic responsibility do little when enforcement is minimal and housekeeping teams are overstretched. Moreover, the expansion in commercial stalls and food counters has outpaced the capacity to monitor waste disposal. Vendors often have no designated waste points, and informal food stalls increase the load further.

Infrastructure modernisation cannot ignore cleanliness

It is undeniable that Indian Railways is undergoing a massive modernisation drive: Vande Bharat trains, redevelopment of stations, new signalling technology, and high-speed corridors. But hygiene still needs similar attention and investment. Cleanliness must be embedded in planning, not added as a postscript. Modern stations mean little if the washrooms inside them are unusable. Upgraded trains lose credibility when passengers find trash stuffed behind seats or toilets that smell within hours of departure.

Where the system fails - and where it works

Not everything is bleak. Some zones have shown remarkable improvements. Stations like Gandhinagar, Bhopal, Visakhapatnam, and Mysuru consistently score high in surveys, proving that cleanliness is achievable when accountability, manpower, and monitoring align. The challenge is lack of uniformity. A passenger’s experience should not depend on which railway zone they happen to travel through.

What Needs to Change - Now

A long-term transformation requires more than drives and posters:

1. Dedicated hygiene audits for each train and station, linked to performance incentives.

2. Increased manpower for on-board cleaning, especially on long-distance routes.

3. Better toilet design, with sturdier fittings, consistent water supply, and modern waste systems.

4. Strict vendor regulation, including mandatory waste management rules.

5. Technology-driven monitoring, such as GPS-tagged cleaning schedules and real-time passenger feedback systems.

6. Public participation, because no cleaning system can survive a careless crowd.

A hygiene revolution is not optional

Indian Railways is more than transport it is the country’s daily meeting place, its biggest public space, and often the first impression for international travellers. A clean railway system is not just about aesthetics; it is about dignity, health, safety, and national confidence. If India can build world-class trains and reimagine stations, it can also build a culture of hygiene. What the railways need now is not another campaign, but a mission-level transformation where cleanliness is treated with the seriousness of any infrastructure upgrade.

Until then, the gap between aspiration and experience will continue to be wide—and India’s passengers will continue to hope for a day when clean travel is not a privilege, but a promise.