THEY are the low point of every rail journey in India. Lavatories on the country’s dilapidated trains are so filthy that, after a few hours, even the hardiest traveller is reluctant to pay them a visit.

All of this is to change, in theory at least, after the minister in charge of the railways experienced the conditions for himself this month.

Laloo Prasad Yadav, the Railway Minister, who revels in his role as a man of the people, has given his bureaucrats a month to clean up the network, especially its lavatories.

“My God, it was hellish,” Mr Yadav told reporters after travelling on the Capital Express from Kishanganj to Patna in the northeast state of Bihar. He travelled as an ordinary passenger, not in the special coach that goes with his job. He said: “The toilet is so dirty that I can still feel the stench. I didn’t have my dinner, it was so nauseating.”

He was so sickened by the journey that he was unable to eat a thing even 12 hours after alighting from the train.

As countless Western backpackers can testify, Indian railways are plagued by delays, overcrowding and rude employees. Stations often double as homes for the poor. Rats and dogs are commonplace — even in the first-class waiting rooms.

There are no plans for privatisation or any other radical measures, but politicians are waking up to the public’s dis-quiet about the decaying infrastructure. Mr Yadav has ordered regional rail officials to clean up the carriages and stations to make them more aesthetic, comfortable and passenger-friendly.

Heading his 14-point programme to transform a network that dates from the British Raj into a modern service is an order to improve train lavatories. Mr Yadav wants uniformed cleaners to use disinfectants liberally and ensure that coaches are free of cockroaches and rodents.

The scheme requires officials to upgrade waiting rooms, increase the number of booking counters and improve the quality of the food. The minister also wants to address customer complaints by establishing a telephone hotline service that is to be functional by the end of the month.

The short period that the minister has given officials to report back to him on their progress appears to be a tall order, given the foul state into which the network has fallen.

Mr Yadav, a popular politician of humble origins who is known for his rural charm and wisecracks, appears to be deadly serious about improving the railways. Some analysts suggest that looming elections in Bihar, his home state, may have something to do with his newfound zeal for cleanliness.

There are signs that his efforts may be working. A lengthy article in the magazine India Today recently asserted that Indian Railways was being transformed into an efficient freight and passenger carrier under the stewardship of Mr Yadav.

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