Utkrisht rakes

steel taps

soap dispensers

POLL What action should be taken against those who vandalise trains? Substantial fine and jail time Pay double the cost of replacing fittings they vandalised Bar them from train travel VOTE

The toilet seat covers and soap dispensers too weren’t spared by vandals

Mumbai-Goa Tejas Express

2,000 mirrors, 5,000 taps, and hammers inside the emergency boxes on around 80 trains are stolen

Even the toilet flush valves and wash basin mirrors aren’t spared as around 80of both Western and Central Railway targeted.While rail passengers rightly clamour for better facilities on trains and at stations, there’s also an urgent need to crack down on vandals who steal/damage railway property. A year-and-a-half after the Railways launched around 300 Utkrisht rakes as part of upgradation of its long-distance trains, it has come to light that more than 5,000 stainlesshave been stolen from the rakes’ toilets and wash basins. The railway data further reveals that nearly 2,000 mirrors with stainless steel frame, around 500 liquid, and nearly 3,000 toilet flush valves are also missing from around 80 Utkrisht rakes.A railway official told Mumbai Mirror that the fact that dozens of toilet seat covers were targeted had left the senior officials flabbergasted.Project Utkrisht, Hindi for excellence, was launched in October 2018 at the cost of Rs 400 crore to provide better facilities to passengers. Utkrisht rakes, which are provided to both the Central and Western Railway, are fitted with LED lights and have odourless toilets.A railway official said that the Central Railway suffered a loss of Rs 15.25 lakh due to the thefts, while the Western Railway suffered a Rs 38.58-lakh loss. “Each Mirror cost Rs 600 while the tap cost Rs 108. The brand-new seat covers have been damaged, and the emergency box that contained a hammer has been smashed and the hammer stolen from around 80 rakes,” the official said. The railways spent around Rs 60 lakh for each Utkrisht rake, he added.Those who have followed the journey of thewill not be surprised by such vandalism. On its maiden run in May 2017, the Central Railway reported that over a dozen headphones attached to the LED screens on the seats were stolen (‘Tejas Express Day One: Several headphones stolen’, MM, May 25, 2017). Several LED screens were damaged as well.For Utkrisht rakes, the Central Railway has decided to install chains around the taps to thwart thefts. Sealants will be applied to the taps, mirrors, toilet flush covers and valves. The Central Railway’s chief public relations officer, Shivaji Sutar, appealed to the passengers to look after the railway property. “We are committed towards making our passengers’ journey a joyful experience and we need their help for the same,” he said.Ravinder Bhakar, Sutar’s counterpart in the Western Railway, added that strict punishment will be handed out to those found damaging/stealing the railway property.