Why do train toilets smell?

Long gone are the days when train toilets opened up directly onto the track. New systems carry their own treatment plant and on-board bio-reactors. But it seems the bacteria that should break down the waste is being overworked on busy trains – leaving an unpleasant smell.



People Also Ask

While modern trains won't litter the tracks with human excrement, the traditional method did just that. This is what was known as a hopper toilet. It could either be a simple hole in the floor (also known as a drop chute toilet) or a full-flush system.

MORE DETAILS

Most trains don't have sewage tanks so anything in the toilet is dumped straight onto the tracks.

MORE DETAILS

How difficult is this retrofitting job, and why is it taking so long? Sewage from train toilets continues to be emptied onto certain railway lines in the UK. Sewage from train toilets continues to be emptied onto certain railway lines in the UK, despite vows by authorities to stop this practice.

MORE DETAILS

So they err on the side of caution, and instruct you not to drink the water, because they can't guarantee that it's potable. Even if the water is great when it goes in, it sits around in an unrefrigerated tank that doesn't get a thorough cleaning every day. That alone is enough to disqualify it for drinking.

MORE DETAILS

Can you go to the toilet on a train when its not moving? As a general rule, people travelling on trains are warned not to flush the on board toilet while it's not moving. That's because most trains don't have sewage tanks, meaning anything in the toilet is dumped straight onto the tracks.

MORE DETAILS

what do they do to pass the time? Other than a refrigerator/watercooler and a bathroom there are almost zero ammenities on a locomotive. Only way a engineer can go to bathroom is by stopping his train or if the conductor is a certified engineer he could run for while.

MORE DETAILS

Every 6,000 miles, or roughly once a month, trains are cleaned thoroughly—just like in the 45-day bus wash. The windows and surfaces are cleaned with detergents and disinfectants and the floor is vacuumed and mopped. The seats are cleaned with an upholstery extractor and damaged seats and seat backs are replaced.

MORE DETAILS

If we take an overall view of the transport sector, 71% of transportation related carbon emissions come from road users, whereas only 1.8% of emissions stem from rail travel. So in absolute terms, trains are responsible for a lot less emissions than cars.

MORE DETAILS

Bathrooms start out clean, but honestly get pretty much like your typical public restroom near the end. To be completely fair, cleaning these bathrooms on a moving train would be difficult, and Amtrak probably doesn't think a stop for cleaning is worth driving up the transit time even more than it already is.

MORE DETAILS

Most passengers are unaware that the contents are consigned to a treatment plant in the bowels of the ship where it's exhaustively purified before being pumped back into the ocean, well away from land.

MORE DETAILS

These will block the cruise ship toilet and as the toilets are all linked together, if you block your toilet, it's likely to affect other cabins. The following items cannot be put in cruise ship toilets: Wipes. Paper towels (kitchen towels for example), toilet paper is fine!

MORE DETAILS

Cruise ship pools are usually filled with saltwater which has been chemically treated. On some cruise ships, you will find freshwater pools but these are less common. It is possible to have a cruise ship where some pools are fresh and some saltwater, this is very common on Royal Caribbean cruise ships.

MORE DETAILS

Yes, locomotive engines typically have a toilet, also known as a lavatory or restroom, for the use of the crew members who operate the train.

MORE DETAILS