The collective imagination thinks the contents of the toilets are being flushed directly onto the tracks.
This was the case with flap toilets used in very old trains.
With the new cleaning and emptying systems, it is possible to go to the toilet at any time.
Hearing that one should definitely not go to the toilet while the train is standing at the station, many people believed it. As a result, they are patient before satisfying a natural need. But are they right or wrong?
This popular belief that train toilets are inaccessible when stopped goes back several years to when the contents of the toilets were dumped directly onto the railway tracks. In these first-generation toilets, passenger excrement is directly ejected through flap toilets. But now this system is very rare in France. These old trains, which are mostly found in small towns, are gradually being replaced by new or refurbished sets precisely to avoid spillage on the tracks.
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Why you can now use the toilet on a train that is stopped at the station
New and refurbished trains now have chemically treated toilets where nothing falls onto the tracks. With second generation toilets, the blue liquid you see when you flush the toilet deodorizes and disinfects the waste contained in the tank. The basket is regularly emptied. Even better, third-generation toilets, even more modern machines, no longer use chemicals. The toilets still have a tank that can be easily emptied and cleaned once the train is not running. You have understood that, apart from a sign indicating otherwise, you no longer have any reason to refrain from going to the bathroom on the train, even when it is stationary.
Where are the tanks emptied?
In second and third generation train toilets, holding tanks are emptied at the end of each commercial service. Emptying takes place every three days at specific sites. For example, there are around ten in Hauts-de-France. For TGV, the place of processing is in Tourcoing. As all trains are upgraded to be equipped with these tanks, the number of seats reserved for this mission will increase!