- By Aashish Vashistha
- Sat, 30 Sep 2023 10:39 PM (IST)
- Source:PTI
The Indian Railways is introducing the ‘14 minutes of miracle’ concept for the speedy cleansing of trains from October 1, starting with the 29 Vande Bharat trains at their respective destination stations across the country.
It will be formally launched by Railways Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw at the Delhi Cantt. Railway Station. The minister said that Vande Bharat trains will be cleaned within 14 minutes under the initiative to improve their turnaround time and punctuality. The initiative will be launched as part of the 'Swachhata-Hi-Seva' campaign.
"It is a unique concept and happening for the first time in the Indian railways," the minister said, as quoted by news agency PTI.
Reportedly, the initiative is based on the concept of ‘7 minutes of miracle' at several stations in Japan, such as Osaka and Tokyo, where bullet trains are cleaned and ready for another voyage in seven minutes.
The minister said that the services were made possible by enhancing the cleaning persons' efficiency, skills and working attitude without increasing the number of front-line workforce already engaged in this activity.
Reportedly, the Vande Bharat Express train currently takes nearly 45 minutes to get cleaned and get ready for the next journey.
Prime Ministry Narendra Modi recently dedicated as many as nine new Vande Bharat Express trains to the nation, taking the total number of such high-tech trains to 34.
With the introduction of the ‘14 minute miracle’ initiative, the accuracy in departure and arrival of these trains is likely to be increased.
The Vande Bhart Trains, known for their semi-high-speed service, started their operations in February 2019 from Delhi to Varanasi.
Before launching this concept, the Railways conducted a pair of dry runs in which attendants cleaned the train in nearly 28 minutes and subsequently improved it to 18 minutes.