Toilets cant escape the quality control

Toilets testing platform.jpg

Who has never faced a broken down toilet in a train? Defective flushing mechanism, blocked drain, broken lock, stench, etc. In order to prevent these problems and guarantee quality, Alstom has developed a test bench last June for its toilets, a first in the railway industry.

In January, the laboratory, which was installed at the company’s site in Barcelona alongside other test benches dedicated to internal alterations, conducted tests of the suction system of the toilets destined to be used on the Coradia Polyvalent (Régiolis) trains.

Alstom decided to set up this laboratory because of the low reliability of toilets in some trains. “the toilet cabins, contrary to other facilities, are not designed to any standard and are not standardized either, which means we have to check the performances of each component,” explained Jose-Julio Muyo, Technical Team Leader.

The new test bench focuses on five elements in particular: the suction system, the doors, the cabin, the facilities and the reservoirs. All the components of these elements, as well as the facilities for people with impaired mobility, the hand dryers, the changing tables, are being reviewed.