Vande Bharat Express ’14-minute cleaning miracle’ explained: How Indian Railways is taking a leaf from Japan’s bullet trains

Vande Bharat Express trains are all set to see a “14-minute miracle” from October 1, 2023. Indian Railways will roll out an ambitious new cleanliness drive for the premium Vande Bharat Express trains, aiming to clean the trains at their destination stations in a record 14 minutes. The scheme will be launched by Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw as part of the Swachhata Hi Seva campaign at the Delhi Cantt railway station.
What is the Vande Bharat 14-minute miracle cleaning about?
Speaking to TOI, a railway official said that the step aims to streamline and reorient the cleaning process in Vande Bharat Express trains to make them more efficient so that the trains are ready for their next trip in record time. “As of now it takes around 45 minutes to clean a Vande Bharat train. Now we are looking at a more streamlined workflow where 3 cleaning staff per coach will work in perfect sync to ensure that the train is clean and ready in just 14 minutes.” “The new way will make sure there is no duplication of effort and the process is 100% efficient,” the official said.
From Japan’s 7 minute miracle to India’s 14 minute miracle
Asked about the initiative, the railway official quoted above said that Indian Railways is looking to constantly improve and attain the global best standards, and hence it derives inspiration from the exceptional practices followed internationally.
Interestingly, Japan’s “7-minute miracle” of cleaning its bullet trains is renowned globally. Bullet trains in Japan have a quick turnaround time and Japan is known for its punctuality of train services. The cleaning staff in Japan pull off the “miracle” of cleaning a bullet train in just 7 minutes. The “14-minute miracle” for Vande Bharat trains is inspired from the Shinkansen method in Japan, another railway official told TOI.

The cleanliness exercise will be kicked off at 29 railway stations across the country including Delhi, Varanasi, Nagpur, Gandhinagar capital, Mysore, CSMT, Kasaragod, Guwahati, Lucknow, Howrah, Chennai Egmore etc.

Vande Bharat Express trains have emerged as the new face of Indian Railways, aiming to offer world-class travel experience to passengers. Vande Bharat Express, which has a bullet train style conical front, is an all air-conditioned chair car service with several aircraft style features and 160 kmph speed potential.