Interior cleanliness: how often are trains cleaned?

[U-BahnNYC]

Can someone (perhaps even an MTA cleaning employee) tell me how exactly are interior of train cars cleaned? How often, aside from the sweep at the end of the route? Are the seats and/or poles ever cleaned regularly and not just when they are obviously dirty? Are "deep cleans" ever done at the yards? Where do the most 'accidents' happen and which parts of the train car are *usually* the cleanest?

This is information I can't seem to find anywhere, not even on here, which is odd considering so much attention is paid to station cleanliness when in reality, the interior of the trains is what matters a LOT more since that's where you sit down, touch things, etc. At least in my opinion.

Thanks in advance.

[Via Garibaldi 8]

4 minutes ago, U-BahnNYC said:

Can someone (perhaps even an MTA cleaning employee) tell me how exactly are interior of train cars cleaned? How often, aside from the sweep at the end of the route? Are the seats and/or poles ever cleaned regularly and not just when they are obviously dirty? Are "deep cleans" ever done at the yards? Where do the most 'accidents' happen and which parts of the train car are *usually* the cleanest?

This is information I can't seem to find anywhere, not even on here, which is odd considering so much attention is paid to station cleanliness when in reality, the interior of the trains is what matters a LOT more since that's where you sit down, touch things, etc. At least in my opinion.

Thanks in advance.

Years ago I saw something on cable that talked about this. They get a “deep cleaning” supposedly every so many months, which isn’t that often IMO.

[U-BahnNYC]

17 hours ago, Via Garibaldi 8 said:

They get a “deep cleaning” supposedly every so many months, which isn’t that often IMO.

Oh my. Not that often at all.

I feel like it can't be that hard to quickly wipe down the most used poles and seats every other day or so. Just have 1-2 people per car quickly go in and do their thing, lysol spray and a microfiber cloth. should take no more than 5 mins... hell I'm sure some people would even volunteer in the name of community service if it means keeping interiors cleaner.

[Via Garibaldi 8]

10 minutes ago, U-BahnNYC said:

Oh my. Not that often at all.

I feel like it can't be that hard to quickly wipe down the most used poles and seats every other day or so. Just have 1-2 people per car quickly go in and do their thing, lysol spray and a microfiber cloth. should take no more than 5 mins... hell I'm sure some people would even volunteer in the name of community service if it means keeping interiors cleaner.

I’ve seen videos and photos. They go in with wipes and wipe everything down or they do their deep clean usually when rehabbing a car. That said, with all of the homeless people riding now, that is one reason I limit what I touch and don’t sit down. They take up entire cars and they do carry stuff. If I hold on, my hands are washed with soap and water ASAP. The  claims that the risk of any serious germs is low but given what I’ve seen I wouldn’t chance it. You’ve got people vomiting, pissing and doing God knows what else in those trains. I have seen it first hand. I was once in the last car of a  or  train and this guy just when went right there. People were looking in disbelief. I just shook my head and kept on going about my business. It’s public transportation, so I don’t expect the Ritz Carlton, but I think the real problem is people feel free to do ANYTHING on the subway. The other thing that drives me nuts is people putting their damn dogs on the seats. Dogs are sitting and sniffing anything and everything, or the people that constantly put their dirty shoes on the seats. I just stand, regardless of how long the trip is. Years ago I used to sit, but as time went on and the situation got worse, I started opting not to. lol

I feel MUCH more comfortable sitting on PATH trains. Much cleaner.

[U-BahnNYC]

3 hours ago, Via Garibaldi 8 said:

I’ve seen videos and photos. They go in with wipes and wipe everything down or they do their deep clean usually when rehabbing a car. That said, with all of the homeless people riding now, that is one reason I limit what I touch and don’t sit down. They take up entire cars and they do carry stuff. If I hold on, my hands are washed with soap and water ASAP. The  claims that the risk of any serious germs is low but given what I’ve seen I wouldn’t chance it. You’ve got people vomiting, pissing and doing God knows what else in those trains. I have seen it first hand. I was once in the last car of a  or  train and this guy just when went right there. People were looking in disbelief. I just shook my head and kept on going about my business. It’s public transportation, so I don’t expect the Ritz Carlton, but I think the real problem is people feel free to do ANYTHING on the subway. The other thing that drives me nuts is people putting their damn dogs on the seats. Dogs are sitting and sniffing anything and everything, or the people that constantly put their dirty shoes on the seats. I just stand, regardless of how long the trip is. Years ago I used to sit, but as time went on and the situation got worse, I started opting not to. lol

I feel MUCH more comfortable sitting on PATH trains. Much cleaner.

Yep. I know it's not good to go overboard with freaking out about germs, as your immune system needs to be stronger than anything that it comes across, but some things are just too much. I.e. the smelly homeless people and their piles of trash.

The homeless usually sit in the corners with all their crap so if I have to sit (and my commute is an hour so I have little choice if I want to get work done), I try to sit in the middle and do a thorough inspection before sitting.

Chicago gets a bad rap but in terms of overall cleanliness they, too, unequivocally beat NYC (streets, the CTA trains, etc). I guess there's only so much the can do on it's part (although I think daily cleanings are completely within reach) since the cleanliness of a system reflects on the people who use it.

[QM1to6Ave]

I've definitely read interviews with C/R's where they recommended not sitting in the end seats due to the homeless camping out in those seats. They also recommended riding in the C/R's car since people are a little less likely to do stuff in there (and less likely to rob you), since the C/R can come out of the cab. 

[R68OnBroadway]

48 minutes ago, QM1to6Ave said:

I've definitely read interviews with C/R's where they recommended not sitting in the end seats due to the homeless camping out in those seats. They also recommended riding in the C/R's car since people are a little less likely to do stuff in there (and less likely to rob you), since the C/R can come out of the cab. 

I always see homeless dudes on the A division sleeping in the corners- they never seem to do it in the 68s though which could be due to the seating, but they do it on the 62s a lot...