After spending billions on 'flawed' bio-toilets, Railways mulls replacement

In 2007, an experts committee headed by Vinod Tare, a professor at IIT, Kanpur, had concluded that bio-toilets developed by the DRDO were not workable

Having spent nearly Rs 13.7 billion on 136,985 railway bio-toilets–criticised for being “no better than septic tanks”–and after earmarking Rs 2.5 billion to install bio-toilets on remaining trains by March 2019, the railway ministry is now considering “upgraded” vacuum bio-toilets at a cost of Rs 62.5 billion.

“We have started experimenting with vacuum bio-toilets like those in an aeroplane,” Railway Minister Piyush Goyal told PTI. “Some 500 vacuum bio-toilets have been ordered and once the experiment is successful, I am willing to spend money to replace all the