Here’s a more detailed and structured overview of the Manamadurai–Rameswaram Green Corridor initiative:

Inaugurated: July 2016

Stretch: Manamadurai to Rameswaram, Tamil Nadu

Distance: 114 km

Zone: Southern Railway

Significance: Declared India’s first “Green Corridor”, making it a pioneering step in Indian Railways’ commitment to sustainable and eco-friendly transport.

Installed in: 150 coaches of 13 pairs of express and passenger trains operating on the route.

Bio-toilets are fitted with anaerobic bacteria (bacteria that don’t need oxygen) that decompose human waste inside the tank.

The only by-products discharged are water and gases, leaving zero discharge of human waste on tracks.

This technology replaces the conventional toilets that would dump waste directly onto the tracks.

Prevents corrosion of tracks caused by human waste.

Keeps station surroundings and tracks clean.

Reduces maintenance costs and improves sanitation.

Enhances hygiene for passengers and railway staff.

Prevents the spread of infections around stations and residential areas near tracks.

Supports Indian Railways’ Swachh Bharat Abhiyan (Clean India Mission) goals.

Part of a broader plan to convert all trains to bio-toilet-equipped coaches in the long term.

Following the success of this pilot corridor, Indian Railways committed to:

Installing bio-toilets in all new coaches.

Creating more green corridors across the country.

Moving toward a fully “zero-discharge” railway system by eliminating open discharge entirely.