Interim code of practice on train toilets for charter firms
NETWORK Rail is continuing to push for the elimination of trains that drop toilet waste onto tracks.
It says it is “not in a position to fund” fitting retention toilets to charter rolling stock, and that it does not consider moves to ban coaches without them as ‘network change’.
Older Mk 1 and Mk 2 rolling stock without toilet tanks is still a staple of charter trains, but NR says it “considers the uncontrolled discharge of effluent on the rail network to be unacceptable and something that must be eradicated as soon as reasonably practicable”.
The infrastructure owner has said it is looking to agree a ‘drop dead’ date after which stock without controlled emission toilets would not be used. However, in the face of opposition by charter promoters and train operators, it is proposing the adoption of a voluntary code of conduct as an interim measure.
NR’s comments are contained in a letter and supporting documents from the organisation’s Customer Relationship Executive Nick Coles on June 10, responding to concerns about NR moves to stop toilet waste being dropped by the time the practice comes to an end for franchised operations in 2020.
The suggested code of practice would include train toilets being locked out of use at certain stations, signage, and announcements both on-train and in brochures not to use toilets when trains are stationary.
Coles said in his letter that NR “proposes continuing discussions with special/charter stakeholders over the next year, with the aim of working together to agree timescales over which it would be possible to address this issue permanently.
“We are not pre-empting the results of these discussions and recognise that there are a number of challenges which will need to be overcome (for example, the provision and access to emptying facilities at depots).”
The letter says that while NR considers the challenges “not insignificant, they are not insurmountable”. It adds: “Some stakeholders are already planning to fit their trains with retention tanks, which demonstrates feasibility from both an engineering and economic perspective.”
NR also warns that it “considers that stakeholders must plan on the basis that at a point in the future they will only be allowed to operate on the network if they do not discharge effluent onto the track”.
The infrastructure owner’s proposals have been criticised by train operators, charter promoters and stock owners ( RAIL 803).
In its written response to NR’s’ consultation, charter operator and promoter West Coast Railway Company had previously estimated its costs of stock conversion at £2 million, with a further £1.2m per year for emptying the toilets using tankers. On June 22, WCR Chairman David Smith said it was the cost of emptying tanks “that’s’ really going to kill the charter train”.