WR terminates contract of on board cleaning in 12 trains

The Western Railway has terminated the contract of on board housing services (OBHS) in 12 trains starting from the Bandra Terminus following a series of complaints from passengers. “At present,WR has deployed its staff on the trains,but will soon invite tenders for the same,” said a senior WR official.

The three-year contract for cleanliness and maintenance of outstation trains (starting from Bandra Terminus) was given to M/s General Security Information Services (GSIS) on February 18,2010. In a letter dated January 12,2011,the divisional railway manager (Mechanical ),WR,terminated the services. The letter said,“The company failed to abide by the instructions issued to them to improve the quality of work. They were given a 48-hour notice following which the company assured us that services were substantially improved. However,on checking the trains,the claims were found to be false.”

“The WR has been getting continuous complaints from the passengers regarding the cleanliness of these trains. The company was given sufficient time to improve their services but it failed to do so. Now,WR is planning to appoint its own staff on these trains,” said a senior WR official.