The Railway move is triggered by the increasing problems trains are facing because of the plastic and other litter strewn on the tracks. ``Plastic waste often chokes up the tracks and impedes the smooth running of trains, exposing them to accidents'', explained Divisional Railway Manager K C Jena.

In Gujarat, the first step has been taken in Vadodara; Jena said he had also held meetings with milk vendors and paan shops selling gutka pouches in Ahmedabad and appealed them to request passengers to use the garbage bins instead of disposing of packing all over the station and on the tracks or trains.

Similar appeals had also been made to the shops on the Vadodara station, the divisional manager said, adding that people's habit of dumping gutka pouches in train washbasins choked up the trains' drainage system. ``Once we do away with plastic bags, there'll be less congestion on trains as well as on tracks'', Jena said.

The divisional authorities also propose to do away with plastic in the catering department. Talking to Express Newsline, a divisional officer said, ``There are a number of trains where contractors serve food in plastic bags. This too will be gradually phased out in favour of other material'', he said.

That the railways will face problems phasing out the use of plastic on the station and on trains was evident from the Baroda Dairy's plea for a reprieve on the stricture against polythene bags.

The Dairy, which switched to packing its popular flavoured milk in polythene pouches for the sake of convenience, cost aspects and to boost sales about four months ago, has been granted a month's extension as it had not received its stock of bottles, according to managing director Ravindra Mathur.

The Dairy sells between 3,000 and 4,000 flavoured milk pouches at the railway station, up from the 2,000 bottles before the switch, Mathur said.