Railways consistently took various measures to maintain a clean environment not only at stations and its surroundings but also at the railway tracks.
Central Railway’s Mumbai Suburban network is one of the largest suburban rail networks in the world, with four Suburban corridors of 336 Route Kms.
In order to keep the city’s track clean, Central Railway runs Swachhta Rath to collect and clean the muck and garbage on the tracks between CSMT to Kalyan on main line and CSMT to Mankhurd on the harbour line. During the year 2020-21,1.7 lakh cubic metres of muck/garbage were cleared from the tracks in the suburban section.
The muck and garbage are dumped along the tracks, which not only deface the tracks but also clog the drainages crossing under them, leading to water-logging on tracks during monsoon. These Raths used to operate only during midnight. The muck and garbage cleaned are packed in gunny bags which were then loaded onto the Rath specials train. 07 Nos of Swachhta Rath are working in the Suburban section of Central Railway. In addition to this, Poclain mounted on DBKM are also operated, the muck is removed with the help of JCB machines as and when required.
Predominantly, the Swachhta Rath was used where the hutments/ slums situated between CSMT – Kalyan at Parsik Tunnel on both sides ends, Dombivli Station CSMT end on Slow local line side, Vikhroli, between Matunga – Sion at Dhobi ghat, Dharavi and the stretch between CSMT – Masjid – Sandhurst Road. On the Harbour line between CSMT to Mankhurd is Ravli junction between Wadala and King’s Circle, Mahim, between Chembur and Mankhurd, between Guru Teg Bahadur Nagar and Ravli section.
While Railways appeal to the public not to pollute or throw waste onto the tracks, the operation of Swachhta Rath trains to clean that garbage exemplifies Central Railway’s continuous endeavour to provide a cleaner environment.
Share
Tweet
