Passenger train toilet

Types of toilets in passenger trains

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Traditional hole in the floor system, operated by a pedal, in an Austrian train

Many passenger trains (usually medium and long-distance) have toilet facilities, often at the ends of carriages. Toilets suitable for wheelchair users are larger, and hence trains with such facilities may not have toilets in each carriage.

## Hopper toilet

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The traditional method of disposing human waste from trains is to deposit the waste onto the tracks or, more often, onto nearby ground, using what is known as a hopper toilet. This ranges from a hole in the floor to a full-flush system (possibly with sterilization). The hole in the floor (also known as a drop chute toilet or direct flush toilet) system is still in use in many parts of the world, particularly on older rolling stock. The principal disadvantage is that it can be considered crude or unhygienic and dangerous to health and the environment – it litters the railway lines and can convey serious health risks when the train passes over or under a waterway. Passengers may be discouraged from flushing or using toilets while the train is at a station or standing at a red signal. To enforce this limitation, toilets may be automatically locked when the train pulls into a station or stops at a red signal. In the United States, railway employees were required to lock the toilets closed whenever a passenger train stood in a station or at any other location designated by instructions in the timetable. Toilets would promptly be unlocked upon departure.

Properly designed drop chute toilets will draw air like a chimney, pulling air through the lavatory door vents and down and out through the toilet, reducing odor.[1] Hopper toilets are similar to old-fashioned sea toilets in that they release the excreta directly to the environment, untreated.

In the United States, Amtrak phased out its use of these toilets in the 1980s after waste from a Silver Meteor train crossing the St. Johns River in Florida, between Palatka and DeLand, landed on a fisherman who filed a lawsuit.[2]

In the UK, at the end of 2019, hopper toilets on timetabled passenger services remained in use. A plan to protect all rail workers and reduce public health risks was delayed with several operators applying for waivers.[3]

In 2021, Indian Railways completed the phaseout of drop chute toilets, replacing them with indigenously developed bio-toilets. Apart from improving hygiene, the phaseout will save Indian Railways 4 billion rupees annually, due to the elimination of corrosion on the rails caused by human waste.[4] They were replaced with bio-vacuum toilets, which use bacteria to decompose human waste, fulfilling a phaseout pledge made in 2010.[5]

Some heritage railways such as Swanage Railway continue to use drop chute toilets on many of their preserved carriages [citation needed]. On the occasion that services operate through to Wareham on the South West Main Line, passengers are requested not to use the lavatories when on Network Rail tracks [citation needed]

## Chemical holding tank

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Chemical holding tanks (retention tanks) are usually included on newer carriages and railcars in wealthier and more densely populated parts of the world. One issue is that the tanks need to be regularly emptied, often at a terminal station or prolonged stop-over. If a train needs to be used again quickly, the tanks may not get emptied. In this case, toilets may back up, which can result in toilets being closed.

## Vacuum toilet

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Vacuum waste tank on a China Railway 25T coach

Vacuum systems used in the newest carriages are similar to those in airliners: waste is pulled into a holding tank with a high pressure pump. Their disadvantages are the same as of chemical holding tanks, in addition they require stable power supply for working, and flushing of anything else but water and human waste (e.g. paper towels) can easily break the pump.

## Composting toilet

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Some trains may have composting toilet tanks, which use bacterial action to break down solid and liquid waste. Only the broken down clean liquid is released to the trackbed after sterilisation. The solid waste only has to be emptied every half year. This type of toilet is in use in some trains in the Netherlands, Switzerland, and the United States.[6][7]

## Cultural references

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In the United States, Dvořák's tune "Humoresque Number 7" became the setting for a series of mildly scatological humorous verses,[8] regarding passenger train toilets, beginning:[importance?][relevant?]

> Passengers will please refrain
>  From flushing toilets while the train
>  Is standing in the station (I love you)...

In The Good Soldier Svejk, author Jaroslav Hašek used hypocatastasis to indicate the fruit of hopper toilets, while conveying soldiers' envy and contempt for their general officer:[9][importance?][relevant?]

> In the station restaurant the general began to speak again about the latrines and to say how ugly it looked when there were cactuses everywhere on the track. Meanwhile he ate beef steak and all of them imagined that he had a cactus in his mouth.

A popular Russian internet running joke and one of the most popular Yandex search requests is "what would happen if you dropped a crowbar into a train toilet at full speed?"[citation needed]

## Gallery

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* The basics: paper towels, toilet roll and soap dispenser

* Squat toilet in Chinese train

* Toilet in Taiwan high speed rail train

* "DO NOT USE the toilet while the train is stopped at the station" notice in Polish, German, French, and English, displayed by Polish State Railways

* This is one of several restrooms on the lower level of Superliner #34960

* A restroom on Amtrak's Acela Express

* Universal access toilet of Japanese Keisei AE series

* Universal access toilet of Dutch NS Sprinter Lighttrain

* Wheelchair-accessible toilet of Japanese Shinkansen (E6 Series)

## See also

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* Accessible toilet
* Aircraft lavatory
* Green train corridor

## References

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1. ^ "Toilets Of The World - Train Toilets". Toilets of the World. Retrieved 10 October 2017.
2. ^ "U.S., Amtrak: Silver Meteor history that doomed much of the Heritage Fleet; 'Kindly flush toilet after each use except when train is standing in station'". Corridor Rail Development. 2022-06-21. Retrieved 2022-06-21.
3. ^ Topham, Gwyn (3 November 2019). "Train firms backtrack over pledge to ban raw sewage on railway lines". The Observer. Retrieved 3 November 2019.
4. ^ Mishra, Kamal (6 June 2021). "Bio-toilets save Rly Rs 4,00 cr a year". Mumbai Mirror. Retrieved 2022-04-03.
5. ^ "Sanitation on track". www.thehindubusinessline.com. 30 June 2021. Retrieved 2022-04-03.
6. ^ "NS schakelt bacterie in voor wc". Trouw. August 17, 1999.
7. ^ "Train toilet bioreactor on test". Railway Gazette International.
8. ^ ""Passengers Will Please Refrain" Song Lyrics and Music Score". Horntip.com. Retrieved 10 October 2017.
9. ^ Hašek, Jaroslav; Parrott, Sir Cecil (10 October 1985). The Good Soldier Švejk and His Fortunes in the World War. Penguin Books. ISBN 9780140182743. Retrieved 10 October 2017 – via Google Books.

## External links

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Wikimedia Commons has media related to Category:Train toilets.

* v
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Toilets

Equipment|

* Ballcock
* Bedpan
* Bidet
* Bidet shower
* Brush
* Cistern
* Commode
* Electronic bidet
* Flushometer
* Seat
* Toilet seat riser
* Toilet
* Toilet cleaner
* Toilet paper
* Holder/dispenser
* Orientation
* Toilet rim block
* Trap (U-bend)

Types|

* Aircraft
* Arborloo
* Blair
* Bucket
* Cathole
* Chemical
* Composting
* Container-based
* Dry
* Dual flush
* EToilet
* Flush
* Freezing
* Head (boat)
* Hudo (Scouting)
* Incinerating
* Intelligent
* Latrine
* Low-flush
* On-board
* Passenger train
* Pay
* Pig
* Pit
* Portable
* Potty
* Public
* Sanisette (self-cleaning)
* Sink
* Space
* Squat
* Telescopic
* Treebog
* Urine-diverting dry
* Vacuum
* Vermifilter
* Washlet (combined toilet and bidet)

Cultural and
policy aspects|

* Accessible
* Adult diaper
* Bathroom privileges
* Bathroom reading
* Honeywagon (vehicle)
* Incontinence pad
* Islamic toilet etiquette
* Istinja
* Latrinalia
* Privatization of public toilets
* Swachh Bharat Mission
* Toilet god
* Toilet humour
* Skibidi Toilet
* Toilet meal
* Toilet plume
* Toilet-related injuries and deaths
* Toilet Revolution in China
* Toilet Twinning
* Unisex public
* Vacuum truck

Jobs and activities|

* Groom of the Stool
* Manual scavenging
* Restroom attendant
* Sanitation worker
* Slopping out
* Toilet training
* Toileting

Urine-related aspects|

* Female urinal
* Female urination device
* Interactive urinal
* Pissoir
* Pee curl
* Pollee
* Sanistand
* Urinal
* Urinal deodorizer block
* Urinal (health care)
* Urination
* Urine collection device
* Urine deflector
* Urine diversion

Feces-related aspects|

* Anal hygiene
* Defecation
* Defecation postures
* Fecal sludge management
* Flying toilet
* Open defecation
* Scatology

Places|

* Haewoojae
* Hundertwasser Toilets
* Madison Museum of Bathroom Tissue
* Modern Toilet Restaurant
* National Poo Museum
* Outhouse
* Rest area
* Shit Museum
* Sulabh International Museum of Toilets
* Toilet (room)
* Toilet History Museum
* Toilets in Japan
* Toilets in New York City
* Bryant Park restroom

Historical terms|

* Aphedron
* Chamber pot
* Close stool
* Dansker
* Garderobe
* Gong farmer
* Groom of the Stool
* Night soil
* Pail closet
* Privy midden
* Reredorter

See also|

* Changing room
* Unisex changing rooms
* Ecological sanitation
* History of water supply and sanitation
* Human right to water and sanitation
* Improved sanitation
* Infection prevention and control
* Public health
* Reuse of human excreta
* Sanitary bin
* Sanitation
* Sewage treatment
* Sustainable sanitation
* Waste management
* World Toilet Day
* Workers' right to access the toilet

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