The Railway Ministry launched a reform to deploy tech-enabled professional cleaning teams onboard long-distance trains to clean coaches at hourly intervals or as needed throughout the journey.

This replaces reliance on cleaning at designated stations with continuous onboard service, changing vendor scope, staffing, and operating procedures for long-distance routes. Real-time monitoring, feedback, and performance management via technology and “war rooms” increases accountability and makes service-provider performance measurable during trips. The onboard teams’ remit expands beyond cleaning to garbage collection, minor repairs, water-refill coordination, and safety-equipment status checks, which can reduce in-journey service failures but adds new compliance and supervision requirements for contractors.