Southern Railway Mechanized Laundry Operates on Electrolux Laundry Systems
The Indian Railways is the largest rail network in the world. The first mechanized laundry of its kind in the Railways, commissioned by Southern Railway in Chennai and operated by Orion Ventures since October 2011.
Amid frequent complaints from passengers about the poor quality of bedrolls in upper class coaches, the Railway Ministry announced that it would open laundries under the Build, Own, Operate and Transfer (BOOT) scheme.
The Comprehensive Linen Management by Orion Ventures for Southern Railways includes:
a. Collection of soiled linen
b. Washing of linen in the mechanized laundry
c. Packing of linen
d. Loading of linen in the train
e. Transporting of soiled and washed linen from station to mechanized laundry and vice versa
f. Providing manpower for distribution of linen
Orion successfully set up a mechanized laundry on the land at Basin Bridge Junction yard, provided by Railways. The six-tonne capacity (per shift) laundry involves steam wash, automatic drying, pressing and folding processes. It has the capacity to handle 18 tonnes in three shifts, and it is presently catering for 42 trains on an average per day.
“The laundry under BOOT scheme is yielding the desired results. The Electrolux equipment installed offer energy and water savings, besides high quality wash results. The Electrolux dryer gives us excellent drying results due to shorter drying cycle and less creasing of linen. The life-cycle of the linen is enhanced thanks to the smart, eco-friendly programs of Electrolux laundry equipment. With hygiene of linen being maintained, the number of passenger complaints has come down drastically,” says Mr. Arif K, Partner, Orion Ventures.
The Laundry equipment installed at Orion Ventures for Indian Railways Laundry in Chennai are 3 WASHER (W41100H), 2 C.FLEX IRONER and 1 DRYER (T41200).
“Electrolux washers & dryers gives the owner significant utilities savings and the innovative equipment features fulfil the Operator’s needs for reliability, low energy and water consumption without compromising performance and quality results. Our equipment is robust and heavy-duty, and can withstand the most demanding environments. With such high capacity daily use of equipment at the Southern Railway Laundry in Chennai, we at Electrolux Service offer our full support and expertise in service to maintain the equipment life-cycle,” says Saj Kumar, Head of Service, Electrolux Professional India.
“Buoyed by the success of the Chennai laundry operation, Orion has also executed a similar project in Trivandrum, with Electrolux Laundry equipment. With our high-performance products and innovative solutions, we look forward to transforming the challenging mechanized laundry environment in India to a successful and profitable business,” says Animesh Sharma, Sales Manager- Laundry, Electrolux Professional India.
