Train Cleaning Guide & Tips
When you board a train, be it the London Underground or any train carriage across the UK, the cleanliness can significantly influence your travel experience. At CCS, we are a commercial cleaning company specialising in public transport cleaning services.
With public transport being a hub of diverse foot traffic, maintaining high hygiene standards is not just about aesthetics—it’s about public health and safety.
Let’s delve into the meticulous process, from the pre-service clean to the deep clean, ensuring your journey is pleasant and germ-free.
Pre-Service Clean: The Daily Spruce-Up
Every train begins its day with a pre-service clean. This is a fundamental routine where cleaning crews sweep through the train carriages, ensuring seats, floors, and surfaces are wiped down and free from the previous day’s wear and tear.
The focus is on visible litter and superficial dirt, which is quickly dispatched. Tube lines, known for their high passenger turnover, are a prime example of where a rapid yet effective pre-service clean is essential to keep to the tight schedule.
Seats, Floors, and Surfaces: The Tactile Triangle
The cleanliness of seats, floors, and surfaces is a direct indicator of a train’s hygiene to any passenger. These are the areas with which passengers have the most contact. Thus, they are cleaned daily.
The floors are vacuumed and mopped, while the seats are brushed down and wiped with sanitisers that are tough on germs but gentle on the varied materials. Surfaces such as grab handles, door buttons, and window ledges, notorious for harbouring bacteria, receive special attention with anti-bacterial agents.
Intermediate Cleans: Quick Turnaround Tactics
Intermediate cleans are crucial, especially during peak times when trains cycle through high volumes of passengers. These are quick, strategic cleaning sessions focused on high-traffic areas and touchpoints. Tube trains, with their quick turnaround times, may receive multiple intermediate cleans throughout the day. This practice ensures that cleanliness is maintained at an acceptable level between the more thorough cleaning sessions.
Cleaned Daily: The Non-Negotiable Standard
In the world of public transport cleaning, being cleaned daily is the bare minimum standard. It’s a non-negotiable in ensuring the health and safety of the public. Every night, when the hustle and bustle wane, cleaning crews get to work with vacuums, mops, and cloths in hand, ensuring that no train leaves the depot without a complete clean. This includes the disinfecting of all surfaces to remove the day’s accumulation of dirt and microbes, setting the stage for the next day’s travellers.
Deep Clean: The Quarterly Overhaul
Beyond the daily upkeep lies the deep clean. This is a comprehensive cleaning process that happens every 3-4 days in some networks or as part of a more extensive monthly or quarterly schedule.
A deep clean encompasses everything from the thorough cleaning of seats to the meticulous scrubbing of interior panels. It’s about getting into every nook and cranny, often using steam cleaning and other heavy-duty equipment to ensure a level of cleanliness that’s deeper.
Interior Panels and Window Ledges: The Detailing Difference
Interior panels and window ledges may not receive as much direct contact as seats or grab handles, but they still gather dust and grime. During the deep cleaning sessions, these areas are given extra attention. The panels are wiped down to prevent dust accumulation, which can be a health concern for those with allergies. Window ledges are scrubbed to remove any build-up of dirt, ensuring clear views and a clean appearance.
Train Carriage Cleaning Services
Cleaning a train carriage is an extensive process that involves far more than a quick wipe of surfaces. From the seats that require special cleaning agents to the exteriors that need pressure washing to remove the build-up of city grime, every aspect of a carriage is considered. Tube trains, with their compact design and constant usage, often demand more innovative solutions to meet cleaning needs within short time frames.
At CCS, we understand that the cleaning of public transport is not just about making things look good—it’s about safeguarding the commuting public. We pride ourselves on our comprehensive cleaning services that ensure every train we tend to is left gleaming. If you are looking for professional train or bus cleaning services, get in touch with our team today.
