Do trains empty their toilets on to the tracks?

Question

Do trains empty their toilets on to the tracks?

Answer 1

All trains in the UK built since 1990 have chemical retention tanks (unless it doesn't have toilets) - older stock still dumps on the tracks

Answer 2

some do but the new/more expensive ones dont

Answer 3

No, they have a sanitation tank underneath.

Answer 4

yes

Answer 5

In the USA, i don't know. In almost all the Europian countries they do. In RUSSIA I'm quite sure they do so.

Answer 6

Most of them do ....

Answer 7

no at the depot

Answer 8

Don't know about passenger trains but most locomotives will have either a microphor toilet or a Bogan toilet...The microphor toilet is a complete toilet system in that it has a septic tank connected to the toilet and also a chlorinator system to treat the liquid that leaves the septic tank..The company that manufactures the microphor toilet system claims the water that leaves the chlorinator is potable but I have my doubts..Microphor toilets are suppose to be mostly trouble free with the only maintenance required is the addition of chlorine tablets  to the chlorinator when its almost empty. Its a 3 inch tablet just like the ones some swimming pools use....:) The Bogan toilet is just a holding tank with a toilet seat and lid attached...There is a flapper below the seat that closes when you put the toilet lid down...The holding tank is filled with a blue liquid sanitizer/deodorizers...they say.. Most Bogans have a unique smell....sort of like s**+--..... They are emptied ever 92 days or sooner if need be at a maintenance facility.......Bogans have been known to cause blue butt...:)

Answer 9

They do what planes do - they freeze it then dump it when the tank is full.

Answer 10

yes they do i know i have had it hit me not good

Answer 11

yes they do thats why they tell you to stand behind the yellow line cos it smells bad!

Answer 12

No I don't think so!  What country? it could make a difference

Answer 13

Yes which is why they say not to flush when the train is in the station.

Some trains in Europe don't even have a flush mechanism...it's just a hole.

It's not a health hazard because when the train is moving, it doesn't give much time for stuff to pile up in one place which should allow it to decompose faster.

But take this into account if you plan on becoming a railroad technician...

Answer 14

a really bazaar question

Answer 15

Good question, but you never see c**p on the track, but they do ask of you not to flush it at platforms.....

But if you personally took a dump on the track... they would fine you!

Thats not fair... they should be fined for littering

Im gonna write to national rail!

Answer 16

Um, ty rosewood, planes do not freeze and then dump the waste from their toilets. Imagine how many people go to the toilet on a flight lasting several hours. Now imagine how much that would weigh. Now imagine freezing it solid. Now imagine dropping that heavy solid mass from a height of 36,000 feet. Now imagine how fast it would go as a result of being dropped at that height. Now imagine some random person walking to work or a kid walking to school...they'd be dead instantly if it hit them! Planes have septic tanks that they empty into special pipes at airports. They DO NOT dump their waste while flying. In fact, it is hightly illegal to purposely drop anything out of planes. I should know...I am training to be a pilot...

Now that I've got that off my chest. To answer the actual question, some trains do empty their toilets onto the tracks, some don't. I've used both types of toilets on trains, and generally it's the older trains that dump it onto the tracks. Newer ones will usually have septic tanks.

Answer 17

The hoppers used to deposit waste on the road bed.  Now waste is held in a tank that is pumped periodically at longer station stops, where the train is serviced with supplies en route, such as drinking water, ice, water for sanitation, etc.  

This is a relatively new development, however, employed for the last twenty five years or so.  This is why the lavatories had a sign cautioning not to flush when at station stops.

Answer 18

No, the trains in Western Australia have chemical tanks and the waste is kept in them until the train is taken to the service depot and they are emptied into the sewerage system by pipes connected from the ground up to the bottom of the on-board tanks. There is no chance of spillage or health hazard whatsoever.

Answer 19

I think so, because once the toilet in a train was broken and there was a lid at the bottom that was left open and I could see the tracks passing under me as I was using it.

Answer 20

Lie down on the track somewhere and find out.

Answer 21

no, they freeze dry the contents of the tank and sell it back to you as sandwiches

Answer 22

That depends from country to country.................some under developed country use tracks.........while some developed countries have trains that do not do this............

Answer 23

I should bloody hope not!they probably empty them each night!

Answer 24

Garrett answer bohbag2000!!!! They can not empty raw sewage on the tracks. Yes it is raw sewage at that point. I do not know the specifics but I can surmise there is a holding tank, like on RVs , and it is emptied at the end of the days service

Answer 25

Yes indeedy they do!!!

Obviously not at stations though- they do it between stops.

Answer 26

Some do, but these days more modern trains have a septic tank, which can be emptied at the depot.

Stand at Paddington Station in West London, and you can see what you would rather not see in between the rails!

As a trackwalker for work, one of the first things you learn is not to eat the blackberries from beside the railway, they are not huge for no reason! The "walkway" beside the railway isn't called The Cess for no reason. When the old slam door stock was still all over Southern England, if it approached you surrounded by a misty cloud, you (or someone else) would shout "SPRAY" and everyone would leg it up the embankment!

Answer 27

Well, I was once in Bridgnorth on the platform for the severn valley railway and when the train pulled out, there was a big t**d on the track!  I think it's safe to say that that train emptied its toilets on the track!

Answer 28

Yes, a friend of mine used to work the railways in the UK and once while repairing a section of track a train passed them just as someone flushed and the whole gang got covered in poo.