Thousands of seats and floors on CityRail trains have not been properly
cleaned in more than a decade, an audit of RailCorp cleaning practices
has found.
Most worryingly, CityRail has never had a proper process for cleaning fabric seats since they were introduced in 2002.
Fabric seats on Millennium, Oscar and some Tangara trains have only ever received a quick vacuum in a decade of service - meaning spills and grime have been left to soak deep into the fabric and cushioning.
"For the first time in a decade, modern equipment and better practices are being applied to this task and we are using commercial standards to get our trains cleaner than ever before. If our carriages are clean and we respect our fleet more than in the past, I think passengers will do the same and litter and vandalism will become less of a problem."
Fabric seats will be cleaned with a dry steam cleaning machine, while floors will be attacked with machine scrubbers and steam cleaners.
Surry Hills nurse Sarah Nancy yesterday said that the level of filth on seats on Sydney's trains was unacceptable.
"It makes you wonder if they are cleaning the handrails and parts like that," she said.
"They spend too much time getting rid of graffiti and don't worry about the seats as much because the stains can be hidden. They can be quite misleading."
Most worryingly, CityRail has never had a proper process for cleaning fabric seats since they were introduced in 2002.
Fabric seats on Millennium, Oscar and some Tangara trains have only ever received a quick vacuum in a decade of service - meaning spills and grime have been left to soak deep into the fabric and cushioning.
"For the first time in a decade, modern equipment and better practices are being applied to this task and we are using commercial standards to get our trains cleaner than ever before. If our carriages are clean and we respect our fleet more than in the past, I think passengers will do the same and litter and vandalism will become less of a problem."
Fabric seats will be cleaned with a dry steam cleaning machine, while floors will be attacked with machine scrubbers and steam cleaners.
Surry Hills nurse Sarah Nancy yesterday said that the level of filth on seats on Sydney's trains was unacceptable.
"It makes you wonder if they are cleaning the handrails and parts like that," she said.
"They spend too much time getting rid of graffiti and don't worry about the seats as much because the stains can be hidden. They can be quite misleading."
