Railway Board Official Inspects NF Railway Facilities

Maligaon, July 21 (MExN): Manu Goel, Additional Member Environment and Housekeeping Management (EnHM), Railway Board, conducted inspection of key infrastructure and service facilities under the NF Railway on July 17. 

Accompanied by Ajay Nandan, Principal Chief Mechanical Engineer of NF Railway, the visit focused on reviewing housekeeping performance, waste management strategies and passenger service delivery systems.

The inspection began at the Kamakhya depot, where Goel reviewed the integrated cleaning & maintenance contract for Brahmaputra Mail. This first-of-its-kind initiative includes coordinated activities such as coach maintenance, bedroll distribution, onboard housekeeping services (OBHS) and enroute minor repairs. This initiative has led to a 25% reduction in passenger complaints on the Rail Madad portal. He also appreciated efforts such as gravity cock solutions for leaky taps and enhanced supervisor training for pipeline isolation.

Goel also inspected the AMI generation and testing facility, which efficiently supplies over 1.45 lakh litres of bacteria for bio toilets in trains across NFR depots including Agartala, Katihar, New Jalpaiguri, Dibrugarh, Naharlagun and New Bongaigaon for the upkeep of bio-toilets. 

To reduce passenger complaints and improve operational reliability, several innovations were showcased, including pre-cooling of AC coaches before placing at platform, leading to a significant drop in platform detention and Rail Madad complaints. Further enhancements include a dedicated UIC testing model that has helped reduce failures due to cable faults and water load testing for power cars using saltwater resistive loads to ensure peak generator performance.

He also visited the Rail Madad War Room at Kamakhya, where 24x7 monitoring of OBHS activities and passenger complaints is being undertaken. Key initiatives like real-time cleaning resolution, bedroll tracking via IRCTC charts, biometric attendance for OBHS staff and monitoring of train cleanliness were discussed. Goel praised the integration of digital systems and interdepartmental coordination to enhance service quality and passenger satisfaction.

At the BOOT Laundry facility in New Guwahati, modern machinery including a multi-stage tunnel washer, ironers, folders and high-capacity boilers, used for cleaning bedrolls and blankets were thoroughly inspected. The facility currently caters to a combined linen requirement of approximately 13,365 bedroll packets daily for Guwahati and Kamakhya based trains. Quality assurance practices using whiteness meters were also highlighted during the visit.

This was stated in a press release issued by Kapinjal Kishore Sharma, Chief Public Relations Officer, NFR.