From the Trans-Siberian to the Flåm, the Orient Express to the Blue Train, the End of the World Train to the California Zephyr, the Ghan to the Tea Train. The story of railway is closely linked to the recent history of humankind – and on occasions it has played a crucial role.
Kings and aristocrats, heroes and villains, adventurers and outlaws, spies and stowaways have passed through their carriages. Events of the utmost importance, episodes of hope and chronicles of misery have played out through luxury class to the darkest corners of freight cars. Trains have acted as venerable funeral processions, and they have born witness to the moat terrible human atrocities.
Trains and railway stations have also been the backdrop for unforgettable novels and films: romances, mysteries, reunions and farewells. They are stage sets with narratives that deserve their own fictional genre… all while holding a special place in our own daily routines.
Keeping these “sets” in shape, so that travellers can get on undistracted with living out their own real-life stories, is the mission of ACCIONA. Over 2,000 workers offer an end-to-end service 24 hours a day seven days a week, including cleaning and maintenance of trains, stations, offices and logistic warehouses throughout the railway network Renfe manages in Spain. In 2016 alone, a total of 462 million passengers made use of long and mid distance, high-speed and local trains and stations in Spain. Yet this fast-paced, continuous throng of passengers through the stations can scarcely be aware of the professional work that goes around them: the care that goes into cleaning platforms, escalators, turnstiles, toilets, windows, domes, tracks, and so on.
So that passengers can concentrate on enjoying their journey, ACCIONA also takes full care of the cleaning of the trains, for which there are several kinds of operation: daily cleaning; a more thorough cleaning every 10 days; specific cleaning tasks every 25 days; end-to-end cleaning every two years; as well as the one-off jobs aimed at recovering particularly dirty or damaged carriages.
The work is distributed between the Cerro Negro depot outside Madrid and the stations themselves. At Cerro Negro, a team of professionals is responsible for manually cleaning the outside of trains, including wiping graffiti, as well as the fronts of locomotives, and anything that requires more exhaustive labor.
In stations, the cleaning is performed by highly-organised teams that give the trains a general spruce in the few minutes they are stationary.
Tasks include refilling of water and soap, cleaning upholstery, straightening seats, replacement of disposable headrests, cleaning of luggage racks, emptying of waste bins, replacement of bin bags, general rubbish removal, cleaning of tables, vacuuming carpets, mopping corridors, cleaning the inside of windows, general cleaning of cafeterias and ovens, toilets and replacement of consumables.
Whether you travel on trains every day, or only on a special journey, ACCIONA works tirelessly to set the stage for your greatest adventures.
To read more stories like this one, visit the ACCIONA website.
