It may seem incredible, but currently on the railway there are still trains that empty toilet waste onto tracks – the issues for workforce and the environment speak for themselves. Network Rail has made a commitment to eradicate effluent discharge from the network by 2020; there are encouraging signs of progress on the issue, but there remains much work to do.
In recent years, as rolling stock has been refurbished, many passenger trains have been fitted out with tanks which can be regularly emptied, thus reducing the discharge of effluent onto the network. This is not however a practicable option for all users of the network.
The age of rolling stock and the lack of depot facilities for some operators means that Charter and Heritage Operators in particular have found solutions harder to implement. To give a sense of the work still to be done, Charter Operators alone have some 213 coaches that remain to be fitted with the necessary retention tanks.
As our own Ian Prosser, HM Chief Inspector of the Railways told operators back in May at the Charter Operators Spring Conference, this is a question of “when”, not “if”, when it comes to finding a solution to this issue.
Network Rail has been working with operators to overcome these barriers and the ORR continues to engage closely with the industry to make sure our approach balances what is reasonably practicable to expect of operators, while seeking to mitigate the health and environmental impact of effluent discharge.
The ORR is also currently reconsidering the health effects of discharging effluent onto the track; that’s not just for those that work trackside, but also the impact on those that clean the trains at the depot. In the past, our inspectors have intervened in cases where railway workers were not given adequate protection when cleaning areas of trains affected by effluent discharge, and we will continue to monitor and take action where appropriate.
We’re pleased to see the good work and commitment that is happening to eradicate this problem and as our work shows, we’ll keep supporting and pressing the industry for positive change.