New Delhi, August 5: Indian Railways is currently operating 19 water plants across the country, ensuring that passengers have access to safe packaged drinking water. Each plant has the capacity to produce one lakh bottles of water daily. This information was shared in Parliament on Wednesday.
Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw informed the Lok Sabha that the demand for packaged drinking water, branded as ‘Rail Neer’, is being met through the existing water plants located at key trains and railway stations.
He noted that the estimated cost of establishing a new Rail Neer plant, under a public-private partnership (PPP) model, is around ₹10 crore, excluding land costs.
The Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation (IRCTC) has been tasked with setting up Rail Neer plants at identified locations based on demand and necessity within the railway network.
In response to another question, Ashwini Vaishnaw stated that Indian Railways is continuously working on preparedness, prevention, rapid response, and relief efforts to handle potential fire incidents at railway stations and on trains. Portable fire extinguishers, fire buckets, and automatic fire alarms have been installed in relay and interlocking rooms for safety.
Railways also provides regular training to frontline staff to manage emergency situations. Training for station managers, train managers (guards), commercial-cum-ticket clerks, locomotive pilots, and assistant locomotive pilots includes fire safety, first aid, and disaster management.
The minister mentioned that control phones are available at railway stations, enabling the immediate shutdown of power supply to overhead electric equipment (OHE) in case of a fire.
Additionally, the public address system at railway stations can be used to guide passengers for safe evacuation during emergencies like fires. Regular maintenance of electrical systems at stations is conducted to prevent fire hazards caused by short circuits.
Ashwini Vaishnaw highlighted that Indian Railways has 177 accident relief trains, 100 high-capacity 140-ton breakdown diesel-hydraulic cranes, and 170 accident relief medical equipment units available throughout the rail network to assist in relief and rescue operations during accidents and emergencies.
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